Keystone Realtors, a Rustomjee Group Company is in talks to acquire at least 20 residential property projects involving redevelopment work in Mumbai and expects around half of these to be added to its existing development portfolio soon.
In addition to these redevelopment projects, the company is also in advanced discussions to enter into an agreement to jointly develop three projects in prime areas of the country’s commercial capital.
Currently, the company’s development portfolio includes around 11% of work related to redevelopment projects and it is looking to increase this proportion. “I think the focus will be on redevelopment because we’ve been kind of bolstered that part of the portfolio, “Boman Rustom Irani, CMD, Keystone Realtors. We will continue to acquire more projects even in the joint venture and joint development space. We will try and limit the number of properties into which we would need to put our capital.”
Real-estate projects involving redevelopment and rehabilitation are the mainstay of Mumbai’s property market as the land-starved city that has few vacant land parcels. At present around 19,000 properties in the city are awaiting redevelopment and this would be a big business opportunity for developers with established brands and execution track records.
Keystone Realtors which operates under the Rustomjee brand has raised more than Rs 635 crore through its maiden share sale. It plans to use a part of the proceeds for repayment and prepayment of certain borrowings availed by the company and funding the acquisition of future real-estate projects.
The company as of March end had 32 completed projects, 12 ongoing projects, and 19 forthcoming projects across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). These include affordable, mid and mass, aspirational, premium, and super-premium segments.
