Motilal Oswal Real Estate to commit ?1,000 crore in 2021-22

Motilal Oswal Real Estate (MORE), the real estate private equity arm of Motilal Oswal Group has committed ?1,200 crore in the last 18 months, across residential and commercial projects in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. It plans to commit ?1,000 crore more during the current financial year. These investments have been made in projects of Casagrand Group and Radiance Realty in Chennai, Ashwin Sheth Group and Marathon Group in Mumbai, Puravankara Group, Shriram Properties, Pacifica Group and Casagrand in Bengaluru and Phoenix Group in Hyderabad. The projects are a mix of plotted, villa and apartment in the affordable or mid-income residential segment. There are also a couple of commercial office projects where MORE has invested.This also marks its first investment with Puravankara, Ashwin Sheth Group, Marathon and Pacifica Group. These investments have come on the back of a severe liquidity crunch in the real estate market post the IL&FS crisis. This was followed by the pandemic which aggravated the problem and wreaked havoc in the normal course of business, the company said. “We believe the current market is in an upcycle, however, capital available still remains scarce to meet the growing requirements. Through our funds, we cater to the capital requirement during the entire project lifecycle i.e. land and approval financing, construction finance and last-mile funding," said Sharad Mittal, CEO of Motilal Oswal Real Estate. MORE has also been getting profitable exits over the last 18 months, and has secured nine exits worth ?800 crore through its platform. “With such a buoyant demand atmosphere, there has been an increased deal flow over the past 12 months. While we have committed more than ?1,200 crore in the past 18 months, we have maintained a cautious approach and stuck to our investment philosophy. Our successful exits over the past 18 months are a result of this tried and tested investment philosophy and hands-on asset management," Mittal said. MORE currently manages four real estate funds and its cumulative assets under management (AUM) currently stand at about ?5,000 crore. The fourth fund, IREF IV, which achieved its final close in 2020, is currently under deployment and has till date made 16 investments and secured 5 exits at an investment level IRR of 20.3%. IREF V is the fifth fund launched by MORE which has recently achieved its third close at ?1,085 crore. It has made five investments till date. IREF II, which achieved its final close in 2015, has till date made 14 investments and secured 11 exits at an investment level IRR of 21.3%. The third fund, IREF III, which achieved its final close in 2017, has till date made 26 investments and secured 10 exits at an investment level IRR of 22.5%.