108 Real Estate expands into India, will focus on industrial properties

Czech real estate consultancy 108 Real Estate is expanding into India. The new office in Delhi will focus on the industrial real estate segment and, in addition to India's largest city, it wants to focus on developing services in Mumbai, Bengaluru or Pune, which have a significant manufacturing sector concentrated around them, the company announced. According to the company, the reasons for its expansion into India were its favourable demographics, growing economy and hence, purchasing power.

According to Branislav Jendek, partner at 108 Real Estate in Slovakia, who prepared and managed the expansion into India, the conditions are ideal for the expansion of services into the world's most populous country. The Indian government, he says, is steadily improving conditions for foreign investors, which is being heard by major industrial landlords such as Panattoni, GLP and Prologis. "In India, we want to synergistically leverage our long-standing and quality relationships with those partners in Central and Eastern European markets," Jendek said.

In the first phase, the Indian office will focus primarily on consultancy services related to the construction and occupation of manufacturing space, warehouses and offices. According to the company's managing director Jakub Holc, the motivation for the expansion of services into India is the local economy coupled with population growth. By 2023, India's population will reach 1.4 billion. At the same time, the company would like to help create conditions in the Indian market that would be able to withstand strong Chinese competition. In addition to advising on commercial industrial real estate, the company envisages gradually expanding its services to other segments such as land transactions and investments.

"The middle class in India is getting richer, which will bring demand for new, better quality products. Therefore, facilities for production, storage and dispatch will have to be provided," said Mayur Tomar, India consultant, 108 Real Estate. "The Indian government is motivating investors to set up plants and investing huge amounts in building infrastructure," he said.

According to 108 Real Estate, India's four largest cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Pune accounted for nearly a quarter of India's industrial hall leasing last year. The supply of industrial space around major cities in India stood at over 38.3 million sq ft. This is roughly three times more than the Czech Republic, with a population of just under 11 million, and seven million sq ft more than the total warehouse supply in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, according to the consultancy.