At $970 Mn PE Inflows in Retail Hit 5-Year High in 2019

• Total inflows in retail sector close to USD 970 mn in 2019 over USD 195 mn in 2015; 2019 inflows highest in five years (2015-2019)
• Of total PE investments of USD 5 bn in Indian real estate during 2019, retail comprised 19% share; retail’s share in 2018 was a mere 7%
• UAE-based Lakeshore & ADIA bet big on Indian retail sector in 2019; US-based Blackstone remained top investor between 2015-2017
• Delhi-NCR received 63% funds of the total USD 970 mn PE inflows in Indian retail in 2019, followed by Hyderabad with a 20% share  
• Overall PE inflows in Indian retail touched USD 2.8 bn in 5 years
• PE investments in the retail sector were not limited to Tier 1 cities – Tier 2 & 3 cities comprised 36% share of total PE inflows since 2015

Despite tepid consumer spends, the total PE inflows into Indian retail hit a new high in 2019 among all five years between 2015 to 2019. Total retail-focused PE inflows touched USD 970 mn in 2019 – a 19% share of the total USD 5 bn in overall Indian real estate, reveals research by ANAROCK Capital.

Shobhit Agarwal, MD & CEO – ANAROCK Capital says, “Back in 2018, retail inflows stood at a mere USD 355 mn, comprising just 7% share of the total PE funds. In the previous five years, after 2019, year 2017 saw the second-highest PE inflows in retail at USD 890 mn. Interestingly, in 2019, Delhi-NCR received the maximum PE inflows of about USD 610 mn – a massive 63% share of the total retail funds into Indian realty during this period.”

“While commercial offices topped the funding charts, the retail sector witnessed the second-highest investments from various PE funds in 2019,” says Agarwal. “Compared to 2018, total PE inflows into Indian retail saw an almost three-fold jump in investments – from USD 355 mn in 2018 to over USD 970 mn in 2019. Investors are betting big on selected Grade A mall projects which have high scope of business profitability. Despite the consumption slump, many malls are doing excellent business today – and investors are keenly vying for such projects.

PE funds see the ongoing consumerism slump in India as a seasonal phenomenon and that the enthusiastic government backing to the retail sector will cause the tide to turn in the near future.

Apart from the top cities, Tier 2 & 3 cities are also on the radar of many PE funds which see these cities actively driving retail going forward. At least 36% (nearly USD 1 bn) retail-focused funds went to cities like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Mohali.

In 2019, ANAROCK Capital was instrumental in Virtuous Retail South Asia (a JV between Singapore’s PE firm Xander Group and Dutch institutional investor APG) concluding a USD 100 mn deal with TRIL for two retail malls – one each in Nagpur and Amritsar.

Overall PE inflows in Indian retail touched USD 2.8 bn in the five years between 2015 and 2019 – fairly close to the residential segments’ total PE inflows of USD 3.4 bn in this period.

Cities Attracting PE Investors

• Delhi-NCR received the maximum retail-focused PE inflows between 2015-2019 – more than USD 750 mn.
• MMR was second with USD 410 mn funnelled into retail over the last five years.
• Pune saw PE inflows of nearly USD 150 mn in retail segment.
• Bangalore retail saw total PE investments of USD 275 mn since 2015.
• Hyderabad and Chennai together attracted close to USD 230 mn during the same period.
• Chandigarh was a major funding target for US-based Blackstone which invested USD 340 mn in a single large deal in 2017.
• Ahmedabad also drew the attention of PE investors and saw its retail sector draw nearly USD 220 mn in the last five years.

Key PE Deals in Indian Retail – 2015-2019 

Source: ANAROCK Research