The Bangalore-based Rs 528 crore Shriram Properties, has rebranded itself as it readies to take its presence across India, from being a South India focussed firm.
The group is aiming to be present in the entire spectrum of housing, from budget homes, to villas in addition to being present in the mall space and commercial office space too. The group, which has so far delivered five million sq feet has 63 million square feet of ongoing projects in all the segments.
The group is expanding rapidly in Kochi, Hyderabad, National Capital Region, Ahmedabad and Pune.
The developer is moving into mall and budget hotels. “We see this having a lot of opportunity for growth,” said A R P Raman, group head — marketing & sales, Shriram Properties.
The firm also been grappling with the input cost inflation seen over the last year or so.
With the cost of steel having risen from Rs 25,000 per tonne to Rs 50,000 per tonne and the cost of cement from Rs 210 to Rs 270 per bag builders’ margins are under pressure.
“Their average returns have fallen from 60-70 per cent to 30-40 per cent today. Some of the costs are being absorbed by the builders,” Raman added. To mitigate such situation, today the contract comes with an escalation clause, he added.
The developer has so far secured private equity investments from Walton Street Capital, Starwood Capital and Sun Apollo.
