Realty bug bites Goenka

You have known this group for its tea gardens and Double Diamond; now it is brewing buildings.

Kolkata-based Gouri Prasad Goenka group has planned a foray into real estate development in a bid to cash in on the boom in the sector across the country.

The group is best known for its tea business and the flagship Double Diamond brand.

Goenka said he was in the process of forming a team to study the prospects of the business and evaluating whether the idle land in the group could be developed.

The group has surplus land in Kolkata and Mumbai. In north Kolkata, the group has 15 acres and in south 10 acres. In Mumbai, the group has two plots of land, one of 5-7 acres and the other 20 acres.

Real estate prices across the country including Kolkata had gone through the roof. Recently, a six-acre land deal in Kolkata was clinched for Rs 213 crore for a five star hotel. The deal is likely to push up land prices in the city

Goenka said none of the plots of land being considered was on the outskirts of the cities like the Kalyan property which was recently sold. The plots in Mumbai were in a semi-developed area and not like the Kalyan property.

The group would explore all possible options for real estate development like housing, commercial and retail.

For instance, in north Kolkata, the area where the group owns the land, is encumbered with high traffic. The group's real estate team will have to map the purchasing power of the people in that area and then take a decision on the optimal format for development.

All the idle plots of land were currently under various investment companies.

When asked whether the group would look at bringing all the plots of land under a separate real estate company, Goenka said, he would examine the option at the appropriate time.

However, there were no plans of partnering with a real estate developer. If the group decided to go ahead with the real estate development plan, it would go it alone. "We are learning the ropes of the business," Goenka said.

He clarified that this was not part of the current phase of the restructuring plan that the group was in the process of implementing.

He said his priority was to get the house in order first which meant restructuring the existing businesses and then focus on new businesses like real estate.

The move to foray into real estate business made sense as it was a booming sector.