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    Raymond Realty forays into commercial projects, plans joint development to expand ops

    Synopsis

    To begin with, the company is developing a 1-million-sq-ft commercial project including Grade A offices and high-street retail component on 9.5 acre out of its nearly 125 acre land parcel at Thane’s Cadbury Junction. The company is also planning to build premium residential apartments spread across 1 million sq ft here.

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    The commercial developments are expected to contribute around 20% of the company’s revenues in the next few years.
    Textile to auto ancillary conglomerate Raymond’s real estate arm Raymond Realty has forayed into development of commercial properties and is also planning to leverage its brand along with financial strength to expand the realty business through joint developments.

    To begin with, the company is developing a 1-million-sq-ft commercial project including Grade A offices and high-street retail component on 9.5 acre out of its nearly 125 acre land parcel at Thane’s Cadbury Junction. The company is also planning to build premium residential apartments spread across 1 million sq ft here.

    “After announcing the corporatization of our business division, Raymond Realty is poised for growth that will pave the way for focused capital attraction in the future. The current project has given us enough confidence now to expand our horizons beyond Thane and our venture into real estate is not limited to land monetization only. We are exploring various options of joint development without land acquisition outside Thane,” said Raymond’s Chairman & Managing Director, Gautam Hari Singhania.

    So far, Raymond Realty has sold over 70% of total launched inventory of nearly 2,350 units at its maiden project 10X. The township project’s first phase has 10 towers spread across 14 acres with saleable area of 2.8 million sq ft.

    “We are already evaluating several such joint development proposals across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with an objective to attain value creation. Initially, we will be focusing on Mumbai region and consider each project with revenue potential of upwards of Rs 1,000 crore,” said Harmohan Sahni, CEO, Raymond Realty.

    The commercial developments are expected to contribute around 20% of the company’s revenues in the next few years, he said while adding that the company will prefer to lease these properties as against strata sale.

    The company’s first project is running 24 months ahead of its scheduled delivery. Raymond Realty has offered its customers, who have been to make payments and had to get their unit forfeited due to financial challenges owing to the pandemic, to adjust the forfeited amount till 24 months in case they would like to book a flat again.

    Textile major Raymond ventured into the real estate development business in 2019 and started a new division Raymond Realty to drive its growth plans in this segment. The company owns a nearly 125-acre contiguous land parcel at Thane’s Cadbury Junction and has been looking to monetize it through its new business venture.

    In October 2010, Raymond had reached an out-of-court settlement with its labour union representing nearly 2,000 employees at the Thane unit.

    The labour union received total compensation worth Rs 313 crore in lieu of giving its consent for real estate development on the land that used to house Raymond’s textile unit until then. The settlement provided clearances from the government bodies to Raymond for a real estate project on the land that housed its flagship textile factory since 1925.



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