Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited, the real estate and infrastructure development arm of the Mahindra Group, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, to establish a Joint Venture Platform for developing industrial and logistics real estate facilities across India. Up to 100 acres of land with ready infrastructure in the two Mahindra World Cities, offering a built-up potential of over two million square feet, has been earmarked as seed sites to be acquired and developed by the Joint Venture Platform over time, subject to requisite approvals. The Joint Venture will also simultaneously acquire and develop other greenfield and brownfield sites in key markets across India, aiming to become a leading real estate solutions provider to global and local corporations. The total investment in the business over the initial years, including debt, is estimated to be Rs 2,200 crore. Actis will own a majority stake, and Mahindra Lifespaces will have a significant minority. Industrial and warehousing have emerged as a high-growth real estate asset class buoyed by rising consumer demand and accelerating manufacturing investment. The National Logistics Policy announced recently by the Prime Minister is expected to give a further fillip to investments in the sector.
Commenting on the joint venture, Arvind Subramanian, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Lifespaces, said, “We are witnessing strong and accelerating demand for Grade A warehousing and manufacturing facilities from both multinational and Indian clients. With our experience in building and operating thriving integrated cities and industrial parks and our ready-to-market plug-and-play infrastructure in Mahindra World Cities in Chennai and Jaipur, we are well-positioned to cater to this demand. We look forward to combining the expertise of both partners in infrastructure development and asset management and contributing to the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.” Ashish Singh, Partner and Head of India and SE Asia Real Estate, Actis, said, “The warehousing sector in India is in early stages of a transformation, rapidly gaining scale while also undergoing modernization. As experienced builders and operators of sustainable New Economy Real Estate, Actis sees enormous growth potential in the sector as India grows to become the third largest consumption economy globally by the turn of this decade. The demand for industrial real estate is on the rise as India benefits from a renewal of domestic capital investment cycle, realignment of global supply chains in many sectors and as the Government’s PLI schemes catalyse more and more investment in manufacturing locally. Yet, there is need for more dependable real estate solution providers and institutional owners in this sector. Actis is excited to partner with Mahindra Lifespaces to invest in the development of modern and sustainable warehousing and industrial space in India which will improve logistics efficiency and support industrial growth, both key focus areas for the Government. “