Motilal Oswal to Close Fifth Real Estate Fund By April 2022

Motilal Oswal Real Estate Fund, the private equity arm of the Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, is planning a final close to its fifth fund, India Realty Excellence Fund V (IREF V), by April 2022. The IREF V, that was initially launched with a target of ?800 crore, was subsequently increased to ?1,500 crore, considering the demand and buoyancy in the real estate sector. The fund will be investing primarily in residential real estate projects. The first close – of the fifth real estate fund – was achieved earlier this year and it received commitments to the tune of ?650 crore. By December, IREF V achieved its third close at ?1,085 crore and made five investments. “We intend to close the IREF V by April 22. The fund saw good traction in the market and hence we decided to increase it to ?1,500 crore, up from ?800 crore. The investors include HNIs (high net-worth individuals), family offices, among others,” said Sharad Mittal, CEO, Motilal Oswal Real Estate (MORE). According to him, there is an upcycle in real estate segment; and capital availability still remains scarce. Construction sector is yet to face full recovery from the shock of collapse of NBFCs and construction finance companies – which at one point were major financers. The funds cater to capital requirement during the entire project life-cycle that include land and approval financing, construction finance and last mile funding. The previously announced additional commitment of ?1,000 crore – to be made across projects for the remaining three months of this fiscal— will be deployed through the fifth fund (and fourth fund IREF IV), Mittal said.