Curation Team
NEW DELHI: Nexus Select Trust, a Blackstone-sponsored listed retail Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), will soon complete the acquisition of a shopping mall and a hotel in Ludhiana at an enterprise value of Rs 490 crore and is looking to acquire more malls in North India to expand the business.
At the end of December 2024, Nexus Select Trust had a portfolio of 17 shopping malls or urban consumption centres with a Gross Leasable Area of 9.9 million (99 lakh) square feet spread across 14 cities in India. It has two hotel assets (354 keys) and three office assets with a Gross Leasable Area of 1.3 million (13 lakh) square feet.
In an interview with PTI, Nexus Select Trust Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jayen Naik said the company remain bullish about the growth in the organised retail sector and also the demand for premium retail real estate space in India.
“We have announced acquisition of a shopping mall in Ludhiana. The deal is likely to be completed within the next two months,” he added.
This acquisition will help the company in generating an additional rental income of around Rs 40-45 crore per year, Naik said.
Asked about the expansion plan in North India, he said the company is looking to acquire shopping malls across the country, including northern states.
Naik said the company is looking at both completed malls as well as those greenfield properties which are nearing completion.
However, he said the company is not considering those malls where shops have been sold to individuals as strata sale.
“We are looking for properties in Gurugram and Noida in Delhi-NCR and also other major cities in North India,” he said.
At present, Nexus Select has malls in Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Udaipur.
The company has announced acquisition of a mall in Ludhiana and the transaction is yet to be completed.
In February, the company’s board approved the acquisition of MBD Neopolis, Ludhiana, comprising of aggregate leasable area of 2,55,666 square feet Grade A mall, including the Radisson Blu Hotel MBD, located at Ferozpur Road, Ludhiana from AKM Enterprises Pvt Ltd for a total enterprise value of Rs 490 crore.
“Our overall target is to double our retail real estate portfolio to 20 million square feet by 2030,” Naik said.
Nexus Select Trust’s Net Operating Income (NOI) rose 6 per cent to Rs 441.6 crore in the third quarter of 2024-25 fiscal year. The company declared a distribution of Rs 332.69 crore to unitholders for the quarter ended December.
