Platform partnerships gain traction in India's real estate sector

Global investors are increasingly partnering Indian developers through platform-style deals, reflecting a shift from one-off asset acquisitions to scalable long-term strategies

Platform-style partnerships between global investors and Indian developers are expected to gain further traction over the next few years as institutional capital increasingly shifts from one-off asset acquisitions to scalable, long-term strategies.

 

Industry leaders say the trend reflects broader structural changes in capital flows, governance standards and risk management practices within India’s real estate sector.

 

Alliances such as the partnership between Mahindra Lifespace Developers and Mitsui Fudosan, as well as collaborations involving RMZ Corp–CPPIB, Hines–Kanakia, Krishna Corporation–Sumitomo Corporation, RMZ Corp–Mitsui Fudosan and Logicap Management–Mitsubishi Estate Co illustrate these shifts in capital deployment and sector formalisation.

 

Amit Kumar Sinha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, said such partnerships combine global expertise with local execution capabilities.

   

“They bring global expertise in design, quality and customer experience, while we contribute deep local development capabilities and execution strength. This model creates value for both sides and is likely to gain momentum,” he said. 

Shift in capital flows 

While foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into real estate have moderated compared with earlier cycles, the nature of capital is evolving. Amit Goenka, Founder and Managing Director of Nisus Finance, said domestic alternative investment funds (AIFs) have raised significant capital, reducing the sector’s dependence on overseas funding.

 

According to Colliers, domestic institutional capital emerged as the primary driver of real estate investments in 2025, with inflows more than doubling year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $4.8 billion, accounting for 57 per cent of the total investment volume.

 

Foreign capital deployment in 2025 declined 16 per cent Y-o-Y to $3.7 billion. However, cross-border investments showed signs of recovery in the final quarter, suggesting gradual improvement in global investor sentiment.

 

“FDI has recently focused on stabilised assets. Now we are seeing these platform deals, particularly involving Japanese and some US investors, where equity is committed to grow a portfolio alongside established developers,” Goenka said. 

Strategic shift in investment approach 

Advisory firms say investors are increasingly favouring repeatable investment models rather than isolated transactions. Shobhit Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Anarock Capital, attributed the shift to improved governance, sector consolidation and regulatory clarity.

 

“Platforms allow larger and faster capital deployment with lower execution risk. They shift the relationship from transactional to strategic,” he said.

 

Badal Yagnik, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Colliers India, noted that investors are moving from asset-level bets to scalable portfolio strategies, particularly in a fragmented market like India.

 

Platforms enable efficient capital deployment, improve tax efficiency and provide clearer exit pathways through real estate investment trusts (Reits) or portfolio-level monetisation, he said.

 

Vivek Rathi, National Director (Research), Knight Frank India, said higher return thresholds and tighter financing conditions have encouraged investors to adopt phased, governance-led capital deployment.

 

“Platforms offer pipeline visibility and diversification across multiple projects, while reducing pricing risk in a high-rate environment,” he said. 

Sectoral opportunities 

Industry executives said office and logistics assets currently dominate platform activity due to stable cash flows and Reit potential. Warehousing is benefiting from supply-chain shifts, while premium residential projects are gaining traction amid strong demand.

 

Townships, industrial clusters and data centres are also drawing investor interest, driven by long-term capital requirements and growth linked to digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence.

 

Thirumal Govindraj, Chief Executive Officer of RMZ Offices and RMZ NXT, said institutional investors are increasingly entering projects at the land acquisition stage, indicating a higher appetite for early-stage participation.

 

Experts said credible mid-sized developers with strong balance sheets and disciplined execution could also attract such partnerships over time, particularly in residential and logistics segments.

 

Goenka added that platform deals, once limited to a handful of large developers, are becoming more common across cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi NCR.

 

Partnerships involving commitments of $1–2 billion to jointly build portfolios signal a new phase of structured foreign participation in India’s real estate sector, he said.