Indiabulls Real Estate set for project launches after last year’s lull

Bengaluru: Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd (IBREL) is gearing up to launch a number of projects in Mumbai and the National Capital Region (NCR) after holding back launches last year due to tepid market conditions, chairman Sameer Gehlaut said in a note after the annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

The company will focus on project execution and keeping debt levels and costs under control.

This year, the Mumbai-based developer plans to launch three projects in Gurgaon, one in Thane and another in Alibaug, both near Mumbai. The projects are a mix of commercial office space and high-end residential development.

Of the projects, the seven-acre Thane property was bought by IBREL last year for about ₹ 236 crore. The firm plans to build premium residences on it. With a development potential of 1.07 million sq. ft, the project has a sales potential of around ₹ 1,600 crore, Gehlaut said.

In June, Gehlaut, co-founder of the Indiabulls Group, said he would invest ₹ 538 crore in IBREL, raising his stake in the company to 37% from 27%, a year after the three founders of the group separated their businesses. The money was for speeding up project execution without taking on additional debt.

The company plans to hand over 6,000 apartments this year and about 15,000 homes in the next four years.

IBREL, which has about ₹ 5,461 crore of debt as of June, plans to reduce it by about ₹ 600 crore in the current fiscal year.

At 12:30pm, IBREL shares were down 1.62%, at ₹ 66.80 apiece on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex index was up 0.64% at 27,019.30 points.