Godrej Properties raises Rs 3,750 cr via QIP to expand business, buy land

Company has built a portfolio of 50 million sq ft in 30 months and plans 12 projects in the fourth quarter.

Mumbai-based real estate developer Godrej Properties said on Monday that it raised Rs 3,750 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares. The company claimed that this is the largest QIP by a real estate firm in the country.
 
The QIP was launched on March 9 and closed on March 15. Godrej Properties raised the money at Rs 1,450 per share through the QIP.
 
The company said it saw a strong mix of funding with nearly 90 per cent of the book being allocated to “long-only” investors.
 
Singapore’s GIC made an investment of $110 million while the largest participant in the QIP was a new investor, Invesco Developing Markets Fund, and certain other funds managed by Invesco Advisers Inc, that put in $150 million.
 
Godrej Properties plans to use the money to buy land parcels and grow its business.
 
Pirojsha Godrej, executive chairman, Godrej Properties, said, “This capital will play an important role in supporting our growth aspirations and provide us significant opportunities to rapidly scale in the years ahead.”
 
In a recent interview, Godrej said that there were interesting opportunities in the market. “Bigger organised developers have seen robust sales over the last four to five months. We have seen that markets are beginning to turn. But most developers are facing liquidity issues. So, there are good land deals available in the market at attractive valuations,” he said.

Pirojsha Godrej, chairman of Godrej Properties

 
Godrej Properties acquired two land parcels in Q3 with a potential of 4 milion square feet.
 
“If market conditions pick up, land prices will reflect that. Land parcels have not fallen much in Q3 but it makes sense to buy at current levels,” he said.
 
The company raised Rs 2,100 crore in 2019 through QIP of shares and Rs 1,000 crore via issuance of non-convertible debentures last year for buying land. It has lined up 12 projects for the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
 
Godrej Properties said the company has built a portfolio of 50 million square feet of projects in the last two and half years.