Marvel Realtors mulls IPO

Marvel Realtors and Developers Limited (Marvel Realtors) is planning an expansion as well as national foray over the next couple of years. The company is also considering an initial public offering (IPO) of its equity.

The equity issue would be largely to accommodate the foreign direct investment the company is likely to attract in the near future and also enable the employees to realise the benefits of stock options, Marvel Realtors' director Viswajeet Zavar told Business Standard on Wednesday.

The IPO could be sometime next year, Zavar said, adding that the company would sharply focus on high end, technology-driven real estate, especially in the housing segment.

Marvel Realtors has introduced the concept of large size, technology-driven homes in Pune and has so far built two such projects. Two more are in the construction stage. Zavar said each unit was in the size of 4,000 to 6,000 square feet, with its own swimming pool.

The concept is catching up with young customers, Zavar said.

"The prices are on the higher side, but the jet-setting urban customer is financing the purchases from bonuses and incentives he gets from the employer, rather than depending on the home loan option, which has a limited use for such property," Zavar said.

He informed that the company was currently engaged in projects worth Rs 2,000 crore that would be delivered over the next three years. Describing Marvel Realtors as an engineering company rather than a construction firm, Zavar said a team of engineers had developed a software that integrates a variety of gadgets that are operated with the help of a single switch.

This apart, the company is planning to expand outside Pune and Maharashtra as it targets the IT business driven cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai or Chennai. The company has already started a project in Mumbai and is in the process of acquiring land in other places.

It has also planned a project in Goa, he added.

Zavar said the company was in talks with an international investment firm to offer them an equity stake of up to 7 per cent. The investment was expected to come in 'soon', he said, without disclosing the firm's name. Marvel Realtors has projected a year-on-year growth of 20 per cent for the next three years.