This funding round featured participation from high-profile individuals such as Dr. Shriram Madhav Nene, Anmol Sood, Sahil Vachani, Managing Director and CEO of Max Estates, and Rohit Kothari’s Anchorage Capital Fund. Prominent angel investor Ritesh Malik and Ankit Mittal and his family office Sixth Sense Ventures Partners also contributed to the funding round, among others.
PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana) is once again in the news after the Union Budget 2023-24. But a project that should have been seen as a mission is in the news for some wrong reasons. It’s not just the fact that the Government of India has not clarified its achievements with Housing for All by 2022, but Track2Realty finds there are data discrepancies with the project as well.
Bengaluru and Mumbai saw the highest leasing in green-certified buildings, accounting for over 50% share in Q2 2024. About 80% of Technology as well as Engineering & Manufacturing firms prefer taking up spaces in green-certified buildings. Majority of the upcoming supply in various construction stages is expected to be green-certified, expanding green office stock to over 600 mn sq ft in next 2-3 years.
Dubai-based PNC Menon, Founder and Chairman of Sobha Group, who hails from Palakkad, Kerala, has pledged to restore hope by building 50 homes for Wayanad landslide survivors. In a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Menon expressed his grief and sorrow over the tragedy, emphasizing his commitment to support the affected families.
If the removal of indexation benefits with Long Term Capital…
Mumbai and Pune together accounted for 63% of the total absorption in H1 2024, followed by southern cities (Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad) at 29%. Mumbai’s share saw an increase from 25% in H1 2023 to 41% in H1 2024, the growth can be attributed to an increase in demand for grade-A warehouses in areas such as Bhiwandi, Panvel, Uran, Taloja, and Ambernath. NCR witnessed a significant decline in its share from 31% to 6% in the same period. Furthermore, Chennai reported absorption of 1.5 Mn sq ft in H1 2024, registering an increase of 191% over H1 2023 due to the low base effect.
AI & Robotics companies accounted for 21% of Bengaluru’s absorption in Q2 2024, as per Vestian’s quarterly office market report, The Connect Q2 2024. Rapid global advancement of artificial intelligence, combined with a supportive ecosystem, has significantly driven the demand for office space in the city. Overall, IT-ITeS sector, including AI & Robotics, accounted for 69% of the city’s absorption in Q2 2024.
In Bangalore, the cap rates for the logistics & warehousing assets continue to remain flat Q-o-Q with significant volume registered in lease transactions. Similarly, rental rates and capital values for Grade A commercial office segment have been flat with no significant change. Though interest rate regime is stable, the impact on the cap rate movement is limited due to transaction volumes and perceived risk not changing much.
India continues to experience positive retail growth, attracting foreign retailers to establish a presence in key locations. Charles Tyrwhitt, a men’s luxury fashion brand from the United Kingdom, opened its first store in Ahmedabad. Additionally, Maison Margiela, a French luxury fashion brand, and Franck Provost, a French beauty and wellness brand, entered the Indian market by opening their first stores in Mumbai and Bengaluru, respectively. Other noteworthy expansions include the opening of stores by international brands, such as the Swiss luxury watch brand Breitling and the American luxury fashion brand Michael Kors in Chennai and Pune, respectively. In addition, the Japanese homeware brand Daiso Japan and the skincare and cosmetics brand ILEM Japan also opened stores in Chennai.
While 3PL players continued to dominate the demand with about 36% share, space uptake by players from engineering, FMCG and electronics segments was significant with 12-16% share each. Interestingly, both engineering and electronics segments witnessed over 1.7X times leasing activity in H1 2024, compared to the corresponding six-month period of 2023. Going ahead, driven by conducive industry-specific policies and an enabling regulatory framework, diverse segments are likely to propel the industrial and warehousing space demand in India.