Arvind SmartSpaces to focus on Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bangalore markets, says MD – Industry News

Arvind SmartSpaces Limited (ASL), the real estate development arm of Lalbhai Group of Companies, plans to focus on residential real estate projects in Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore for fiscal 2025. With a healthy cash flow, zero debt and a Rs 900 crore investment platform from HDFC Capital, ASL aims to add new assets worth Rs 4,500-5,000 crore to its portfolio.

Kamal Singal, Managing Director & CEO, Arvind SmartSpacessaid, “Since Covid, demand for mid-range and luxury housing has increased more than the affordable housing segment, hence, we are not focusing on affordable housing at present. In the medium term, ASL is focusing on the market in Gujarat, Bangalore and Maharashtra will follow a 40:40:20 ratio. There is a demand for both high-rise and vertical development in the Bangalore market. ASL has three-four high-rise projects in its pipeline in Bangalore. In Maharashtra, we are focusing on Pune and Mumbai as we consider them as one market. Discussions are on to create a plan and in the next few months, we plan to launch two-three large projects of around 50-100 acres in Pune and Mumbai.”

Talking about the Gujarat market, he said, “Arvind SmartSpaces currently has over 1,000 acres of developed land in Ahmedabad, taking its total portfolio area in Gujarat to 68.8 million square feet (msf), including 13 msf in Surat and the remaining in Ahmedabad. Of this portfolio, 42.2 msf is planned (including 13 msf in Surat), 23.4 msf is under development and 3.2 msf has been completed.”

ASL’s current portfolio of around 1400 acres of land is dominated by the Gujarat market with a share of around 60% (20 projects), while Bangalore (11 projects) accounts for around 34% and the rest is Maharashtra market as the company currently has only one project in Pune. 20% of the total portfolio is in vertical development and 80% of the portfolio is for horizontal development.

“Of the total ₹2,500 crore of new launches planned in FY25, ₹1,500 crore will be concentrated in Ahmedabad and Surat. Of the ₹5,500 crore of business development investment for ASL, we expect ₹1,200 to ₹1,500 crore to come from Gujarat in FY25,” the ASL MD added.

Talking about ASL’s performance in FY2024, he said, “ASL has recorded its highest ever sales in FY2024 at over Rs 1,100 crore, up 38% over FY2023 and we had an advance booking of Rs 876 crore from our customers. Last year, we added inventory worth around Rs 4,000 crore and will add another Rs 4,500-5,000 crore of new inventory in FY2025. Also, our cash from operations in FY2024 stood at Rs 450 crore as against Rs 200 crore in the previous fiscal.”

It is worth mentioning that in Ahmedabad, ASL recorded bookings of around Rs 690 crore in FY24 as against bookings of around Rs 340 crore in FY23. It is also preparing a 500-acre township project in Kalyangadh, Ahmedabad and a 300-acre project in Surat (to be launched in FY25). Both these projects are worth around Rs 2,200-2,500 crore.
“Ahmadabad is one of the fastest growing cities in India because it has a demand for land due to the growth history of Gujarat. In Ahmedabad, new land or land on the outskirts like Ambli Road is more expensive than land in the city, which is the opposite in the case of other cities in India. This can be understood considering the fact that the current FSI for a GIFT city is over Rs 6,000 per sq ft, while just two years ago it was around Rs 1,500 per sq ft,” concluded Kamal Singal