UK-based Daily Mail Group will invest $5 million (Rs 31.73 crore) in a Series A round in residential real estate data and analytics company Liases Foras Real Estate Rating & Research Pvt Ltd for a significant minority stake. dmg information Asia Pacific, the subsidiary of DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust) will invest more than $5 million in Liases Foras and aims to increase its stake in the firm over the next few years, said a statement from the company.
This investment comes a month after it led a $3 million (Rs 18.3 crore) investment round in commercial real estate data provider Propstack. Daily Mail Group that has interests in data and analytics companies serving real estate, energy, education and healthcare segment, plans to make half a dozen fresh investments in India this financial year.
Established in 1999, Liases Foras is a non-brokerage residential real estate data and analytics company based out of Mumbai. Laises Foras has built up a proprietary database of residential housing developments by collecting inventory and pricing data on the top 25 cities in India, covering around 15,000 new build projects from over 8,000 developers on a quarterly basis. Its list of clients includes leading mortgage companies such as HDFC Ltd, Axis Bank, real estate developers, government bodies and leading international research organisations.
Liases Foras monetises data through online subscription-based services and through custom research and advisory services which include valuation, risk assessment, future forecasting and price behaviour. The funds raised will be used to hire key management team members, increase its presence in major metros and launch two new verticals; monitoring services and automated valuation.
“Residential real estate is one of the largest asset classes in India which is likely to grow from $80 billion to $140 billion by 2020. However, residential real estate data still are very opaque,†said Tej Kapoor, country head, dmgi information India. “dmgi having assets such as Landmark Information Group in the UK will be able to add immense value to Laises Foras,†he said.
“Through the synergy created by this partnership, we look forward to bringing new insights and information to our clients and establish our company as the market leader in the provision of residential property data and analytics in India,†said Pankaj Kapoor, CEO, Laises Foras.
