PFM expands footprint in commercial realty

Piramal Group’s financial services arm Piramal Fund Management (PFM) plans to expand its portfolio in the commercial segment by offering flexi lease rental discounting (LRD) for completed commercial assets and is targetting a book size of Rs 10,000 crore by fiscal 2018.

With the launch of Flexi LRD, PFM is targeting higher liquidity transactions than what the traditional banks are able to offer, along with added flexibility for the developers in terms of both serving and repayment. Owners of completed assets will therefore, be able to approach PFM to raise significantly more flexible financing than they would otherwise be able to source from a bank.

Khushru Jijina, Managing Director, Piramal Fund Management said, “By introducing this innovative form of Flexi LRD, we are targeting owners and holders of marquee assets and offering them a form of finance that is both competitive and flexible whilst also enabling them to raise more money against the same asset when compared with traditional forms of LRD.”

PFM has identified an initial pipeline of transactions worthRs 1,500 crore for two deals with one each in Mumbai and Bengaluru, company’s Managing Director Khushru Jijina said.

PFM has been providing unique financial solutions for its development partners with products such as Mumbai Redevelopment Fund, Apartment Fund, Piramal Preferred Partner, among others.

The company is targeting a portfolio of around Rs 10,000 crore by fiscal 2018 for this offering and will be looking at projects across six metros including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, NCR and Hyderabad.

Currently, out of the total portfolio, nearly 52 per cent is towards construction financing which is majorly towards residential projects while commercial is around 20 per cent.

“Going forward, by FY18, we wish to have a healthy mix of residential and commercial in the portfolio and within the two a good mix of construction and mezzanine funding," Jijina added. 

— TNS