8/14/2019 We Have Been Able to Make a Big Difference to the People We Have Served

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We have been able to make a big difference to the people we have served.

Established in 1980, Lodha Group is one of Mumbai's premier real estate developers.Today, the group provides stylish and comfortable living to over 12000 families acrossMumbai. The group develops residences, offices, IT campuses, townships and weekend

retreats, across prime locations in Mumbai. From luxury garden residences in SouthMumbai to large integrated townships in the suburbs, the group caters to diverseconsumer needs across all segments. Having established itself in Mumbai, Lodha Groupis now spreading its wings to the rapidly developing metros on Southern and WesternIndia. They have recently acquired land in Hyderabad and are also looking at Pune. ThisISO 9001:2000 certified group is currently growing at over 100 per cent annually, with anannual turnover of Rs 1000 crore. Abhisheck Lodha, Director, Lodha Group of Companies drives the overall Planning for the Group with core emphasis on ProjectManagement and Estate Management since 2003. He holds a Bachelor's and Master'sdegree in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta - USA.His experience includes a stint at McKinsey & Company, USA. He is responsible for the

 planning of exclusive projects such as Lodha's Chateau Paradis at Worli Seaface andLodha Grandeur at Prabhadevi. Excerpts from an interview:

What has your company achieved in the 27 years of its existence?We believe we have been able to make a big difference to the lives of the people, whomwe served, whether its residential space or offices or shopping retail space. We haveconstantly been on the path of innovation in the real estate market. Right from the firstdeveloper to introduce 100 per cent cheque payment way back in 1985 till today when weare launching Bellissimo C, the first development in India having its own personalelevators. We have been successfully able to pull together significant projects, whichmatch the best in the world, driven by a team of professional, which are best in the

industry. We are the single largest developer in Mumbai in terms of sq ft in area.Currently we have 25 projects under construction of more then 27 million sq ft under development. We have over 800 professional.

Your company is engaged in various sub-sectors of real estate development. Where doesyour expertise lie?

We are focussed and have significant expertise specifically on high end residential and premium office space market.

Why only luxury, why not something for middle class?

We definitely offer something for middle class as well but what I mean with high end iswe offer best offering in every segment, like we have offering in Thane and also at Napeanse Road. We serve the entire spectrum in the city and ensure that whatever weoffering should be up to the aspirations of people who want to live over there. We havelot of projects affordable and targeted to middle class. We currently have 3 largedevelopments currently under way totalling over a crore sq ft, one is at Thane, LodhaParadise, similarly there is Lodha Aqua at Dahisar and other at Bhandup called Lodha

8/14/2019 We Have Been Able to Make a Big Difference to the People We Have Served

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Imperial. What are the key drivers to the exceptional development in the real sector inIndia? The key drivers of booming real estate industry in India is No. 1 the growth of theIndian economy, which has given lot of monthly income to the Indian consumers,coupled with the fact the limited good quality house stock available in the country. So onone hand you have great demand coming in on account of booming economy on the other 

hand you have shortage of good supply. Those two combined together drives the realestate boom in the country.

How are you geared up to meet this demand and supply chain?

On demand side we are bringing out larger and better project each year and on the supplyside we are ensuring that are projects get delivered in time bound fashion and we are putting best world class technology into place in order to ensure planning and delivery of  projects.

Private equity investment in India has reached to different levels; you have also

experienced this in 3 different projects, your comment.

Private equity is one of the forms of finance, which enables companies to grow evenfaster. It's a welcome development in our country, which required a lot of development tocater to its masses; this is one form, which enables that.

Please throw some light on Lodha Bellissimo project? What are the characteristicfeatures of this project?

It is a concept to ensure that people who are living hectic and hassled lives have peace,comfort and privacy at home. And one of the factors to ensure is that they are living with

like-minded individuals. We don't want noncooperation among residents in our developments. The 'By invitation only' concept is primarily to make sure that likeminded people are going to come together.

What is the current status of Lodha Bellissimo?Lodha Bellissimo has three phase A, B and C. While A & B are already launched and areunder construction, which are expected to get complete by September 2009, Bellissimo Cis being recently launched by us and is set to get complete by December 2010. FromBellissimo A & B we are expecting $ 300-350 mn in terms of sales. We have reservedfour and half acres of green space in Bellissimo C and seven and half acre will be the soldarea. We are selling Bellissimo C at the rate of Rs 20000 per sq ft. While 80-85 per cent

of A & B have already been sold out.

What are your suggestions to improve operations in the real estate market?Operationally we are far behind in productivity from what the revenues should be. TheMcKinsey studies in 2003 said that India productivity is about 8 per cent where as theUSA's productivity is 90 per cent. There is huge gap between which needs to be bridged.In last 4 years, we have come a long way and if continued to improve technology, use of 

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 better systems, increase in mechanisation and use of better quality material will ensurethat we have better and more reliable construction in faster time period.

You have recently acquired land in Hyderabad, what are your plans on this line? Whichare the other locations on your target?

We have acquired 12.9 acres of land located at Eden Square, Kukatpally Housing BoardColony, for Rs 255.42 crore in an auction by Andhra Pradesh Housing Board. Again weare doing something in Hyderabad, which they haven't seen so far in terms of premiumdevelopment of office space and residential space in about three million sq ft. Planningfor all this will start in next 3 months and will be completed in 36 months time.

o Provide comfortable living to over 12000 families across Mumbaio Growing at over 100 per cent annuallyo Currently 25 projects are under construction covering more then 27 million sq ft

o Developing 3 large projects - Lodha Paradise, Thane; Lodha Aqua, Dahisar and LodhaImperial, Bhandup, for middle classo Lodha Bellissimo A & B will be complete by September 2009, and C is set to getcomplete by December 2010o Bellissimo A & B will generate $ 300-350 mn of revenue and are selling Bellissimo Cat the rate of Rs 20000 per sq fto Acqured 12.9 acres of land for Rs 255.42 crore in Hyderabad