Family-run Eros Group mulling a public listing in five years

New Delhi: A “conservative family Group” by their own admission, real estate major, the Delhi-based Eros Group, is considering going public within five years, Group Director Avneesh Sood said during an exclusive interaction with DH. 

The realty player is also in advanced stages of discussions for acquisition of a hotel property in the National Capital Region (NCR), another company official said. The deal value for the same is north of Rs 100 crore. If talks fructify, the project should be operational by September 2024, the official added. 

Furthermore, the brand is scouting for hospitality properties in Goa and Mumbai, to add to its existing portfolio of four hotels in the NCR and nearby Chandigarh. “We want it to be semi-finished where we can renovate it and put it under the management contract and run the property,” Sood said. 

“We have made some great achievements in hotel revenues the past year and now the wedding banquets will be doing well,” he added.

In the residential segment, the player is channelling all efforts towards the third phase of its Sampoornam project in Greater Noida, which is expected to fetch sales revenue to the tune of Rs 650 crore. This phase will include 11 towers, comprising 700-plus 2 and 3 bedroom units. The starting price is Rs 8-10,000 per square feet, Sood highlighted.

Moreover, with record-breaking demand witnessed for luxury properties in India this year, Sood attested to a shifting focus in favour of this segment within the company. Eros, which has so far undertaken projects with a maximum of 5 bedroom units spread across 4,400 square feet each, is now eyeing a larger project which will house 5-7 bedroom homes, each spanning over 6,500 square feet. The project is expected to see ground breaking in mid-2024.

“Slow and steady” is the 80-year old brand’s philosophy, Sood underscored. A traditionally run business, Eros receives 80 per cent of its sales through brokers, while 20 per cent of the clients approach the developer via direct channels.

Remarkably, the Group has cut down its marketing spend significantly in recent years, relying primarily on social media platforms. The share between digital media versus traditional media currently stands at a 90:10 ratio, respectively.

Elaborating on the commercial end of business, Sood shared that the Group currently holds large land banks in Haryana, which it intends to use for warehousing and office projects at an opportune time. “Warehousing is a big market and that is something we have to explore as well,” Sood said.