Welspun Group promoters have acquired a majority stake in One Industrial Spaces, an integrated fund, development and asset management organization focused on the warehousing sector in India.
The company did not disclose the transaction details but said the investment was made by the promoters in their personal capacity through a closely held family office investment vehicle, Welspun said in a statement.
The Welspun Group has business interests in line pipes, home textiles, infrastructure, oil & gas, advanced textiles, and floorings solutions.
One Industrial Spaces was set up early this year by Anshul Singhal. Post the transaction, One Industrial Spaces will be re-branded as Welspun One Logistics Parks, the statement added.
Anshul was director and chief executive officer at Embassy Industrial Parks (EIP), a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and the Embassy Group from 2014 to 2019.
Welspun One will be the exclusive development manager for a portfolio of ready land assets owned by the promoters in their personal capacity with an estimated value of $50 million and development potential of over 5 million square feet of Grade-A industrial/warehousing space.
The company has announced its maiden project in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) spread across an area of 3 million sq ft.
B.K. Goenka, chairman at Welspun Group, said the warehousing sector presents an attractive investment proposition as it provides development returns and stable long-term rental yields. “Indian consumers demand same-day delivery both online and offline, which has resulted in an increased strategic back-end storage requirement,” he said.
Anshul Singhal, managing director at Welspun One, said land acquisition and approvals pose a big challenge for existing players in the warehousing sector.
“We can now leverage their deep understanding and experience in buying large land parcels and successfully executing millions of square feet of industrial and infrastructure projects pan India,” Singhal adds.
Welspun One will continue to build its core business of fund, development and asset management which includes raising funds from domestic and foreign institutional investors to invest in the industrial asset class in India in an organized, transparent and institutional manner.
At the time of the launch of the company, Yash Ravel, executive director for capital services at One Industrial Spaces, had said that the company would also create a platform for affluent investors to invest capital in the warehousing asset class in an organised manner.
Warehousing segment has remained relatively insulated from the overall slowdown in the economy thanks to high primary demand and as companies move from Grade B facilities to Grade A facilities.
Leasing activity in the warehousing segment across key cities in the first two quarters of 2019 jumped 30% from a year earlier to 14 million sq ft, as per a research report by real estate consultancy ANAROCK.
