PE investment in real estate rises 19% in FY21 despite pandemic: Anarock

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New Delhi: Private equity investment in real estate rose 19% last fiscal year to $6.27 billion despite the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by increased interest from foreign investors, according to property consultant Anarock.

Anarock Capital in its latest report ‘Flux – FY20-21 Market Monitor for Capital Flows’ highlighted that despite COVID-19, more than $6.27 billion were pumped into the sector in FY’21, as against $5.8 billion in FY20.

Shobhit Agarwal, MD & CEO – ANAROCK Capital, said, “Foreign funds are evidently very upbeat about India. High-grade rental-generating assets have attracted foreign investors in a big way during the year.” “Moreover, India has a strong underlying demand for office space with quality workforce and average rentals available at less than a dollar per sq ft per month,” he added.

Unlike earlier years, the fiscal year 2020-21 saw private equity investors focus majorly on portfolio deals across multiple cities and assets, rather on specific projects or cities, the report said.

Such portfolio deals constituted 73 per cent of the overall share, with approx. $4,583 million invested via portfolio deals in multiple cities. The average ticket size of PE deals rose by 62% in the fiscal year – from $110 million in FY20 to $178 million in FY21.

Both structured debt and equity witnessed strong growth during the year at 84% and 15%, respectively. Structured debt was largely towards portfolio deals instead of project-level assets.

Foreign PE funds showed much optimism for India. As much as 93% of the total PE investments pumped into Indian real estate was by foreign investors. Investments by foreign PE funds almost doubled from $3 billion to $5.8 billion in FY21.

In contrast, domestic PE funds invested merely $300 million compared to $420 million in FY20. “… the successful REIT listings have provided a good monetising option for PE investors, leading to a stronger demand for good quality rental earning office and retail assets,” he said.