Given the impetus to the affordable housing segment, its Provident brand is expected to account for a substantial portion of its new launches this year
Bengaluru-based realtor Puravankara Group has its hands full even during COVID-19. The company plans to launch 11 residential projects spread across a total area of 10.23 million square feet area in Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai, Cochin, and Chennai this fiscal.
All future projects would be launched under its two brands – Puravankara, the luxury offering and Provident, the premium affordable housing brand.
The company is expecting revenue of over Rs 6,000 crore from its new launches with an average realisation of Rs 7,500 per square foot from Puravankara projects (2.67 million sqft) and Rs 5,500 per sqft from Provident projects (7.56 million sqft).
The company launched two projects during the height of the pandemic in June - Purva Atmosphere and Provident Woodfield. These were earlier planned for a launch in March.
The company is also expected to launch 10 mn. sq. ft. in commercial space. These would primarily be in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
“These launches were planned for FY21 and most of them will take place in the second half of the year as different phases of unlock are taking place post the COVID situation. All our deadlines are as per timeline shared with RERA,” Abhishek Kapoor, COO, Puravankara told Moneycontrol.
Given the continued investments and impetus in the affordable housing segment, "Provident will account for a substantial portion of our new launches and this will remain a significant value driver for us," he said.
All projects are expected to meet the construction timelines set under RERA.
“All our deadlines are as per timeline shared with RERA. When we set a timeline for completion of the construction (of a project), we always factor in additional time to absorb any delays due to unavoidable situation. This has helped us in completing our projects on time so that we can meet the project handover deadline we have committed to our customers,” he told Moneycontrol.
Due to the COVID-19 situation, the government has already provided a sop where all projects dated after March 2020 have been given a blanket extension of six months and “we are adhering to the same,” he said.
As for consolidation in the industry post the pandemic, Kapoor is of the opinion that “consolidation in the industry is only going to get severe, branded developers will scale up and will multiply their businesses. We are keen and will continue to look at these and plan our expansion,” he said.
The company has no plans for North India for now. Focus expected to be on Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Chennai, Mumbai, Coimbatore and Goa.
“Our second homes projects in Goa is in full swing,” he said.
Affordable housing is expected to do well during and post the contagion.
“The government has provided several incentives for affordable housing. Our focus would continue to grow our businesses in these segments,” he said.
As for lessons learnt during the lockdown phase, “we utilised the lockdown as an opportunity to focus on our business continuity plans. The lockdown gave us an opportunity to pause and take a relook at every part of the business. It gave us an opportunity to strategise,” he said.
The company also realised that investment in the digital space is the way forward. “We have been leaders in the digital space for marketing for a long time. On the construction side, we were one of the first ones to start using precast technology,” he added.