The firm is looking to build total warehousing assets spread over around 4 million sq ft during this period, said a top official of the company.
The institutional Investment manager is in talks with developers in key metro cities of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR), Chennai, Bengaluru as well as select non-metro cities to undertake these warehousing projects.
“With the robust infrastructure and various government policy initiatives showing economic green shoots across the country, the warehousing and logistics sector presents significant potential for institutional investors. WSB, with its institutionalized investment management approach, will channelize more institutional capital in this space,” Vinit Prabhugaonkar, Managing Partner, WSB, told ET.
The company’s maiden warehousing park will come up on a 16-acre land parcel with development potential of over 360,000 sq ft on NH71 in Delhi-NCR. The company is making a total investment of over Rs 110 crores to develop this facility along with its project partner Panattoni, a globally reputable warehouse developer.
The park is situated in the Industrial cluster west of Gurugram, the Farukh Nagar- Jhajjar-Luhari belt, which houses major retailers, 3PL, e-commerce, and industrial occupiers and the development is slated to be completed by March 2025.
In addition to this, the firm expects to conclude 3-4 deals, diligence for which is ongoing, cumulatively worth Rs 500 crore to Rs 700 crore, in the next few months. The firm currently manages cumulative assets under management of over Rs 2,200 crore along with its affiliates.
WSB Partners, formerly known as Walton Street India, is an India focused alternative asset manager, founded by Walton Street Capital’s ex-India team including Kaushik Desai, Vinit Prabhugaonkar, Vimal Jangla and the Blacksoil group.
Since 2013, WSB has committed more than $275 million of capital in the real estate sector. The group has made 53 investments spread across five metros, managed over 80 projects and has secured exits in 70% of these transactions.
Owing to rapid growth in industrial activities and penetration of ecommerce, warehousing and logistics is emerging as one of the fastest growing real estate segments in India.
The warehousing and logistics segment of real estate has emerged as a relatively immune segment to the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic and since then has gained further strength, attracting more investments, driven by demand from ecommerce and third-party logistics (3PL) players. In India, a favourable regulatory environment, along with the government’s support through policy and reforms, has started to boost spending in infrastructure and in turn the overall demand for modern warehousing.
