India still has a shortage of 18 million homes and requires $330 billion of construction funding.

“The existing gross bank credit to the sector is less than $55 billion. If we consider the larger sector beyond residential, the capital infusion requirements are virtually limitless,” said Shobhit Agarwal, MD & CEO - ANB Capital Advisors.

“Indian real estate is metamorphosing into a highly transparent industry into which all large global funds will want to enter aggressively,” he added.

The intermediary services in this space are very thin on the ground, and there is considerable scope for organised professional advisors. “The launch of ANB Capital Advisors could not be better-timed, given the high deal flows in residential and office real estate,” said Agarwal.

Agarwal, former Managing Director - Capital Markets and International Director of JLL Property Consultants India, launched ANB Capital Advisors recently.

The firm to be headquartered in Mumbai will focus exclusively on various asset classes of real estate. Agarwal heads a team of real estate investment banking advisors with average 18–20 years of experience in structuring and executing both simple and complex transactions.

ANB Capital Advisors, which is actively involved in several big-ticket deals, undertakes transactions under the ambit of investment banking business in the real estate industry.

The key focus is on capital markets, corporate finance, hotels and hospitality, land, and warehousing and logistics across India. The firm works with developers, landowners, capital providers, including private equity funds, banks, insurance companies and financial institutions.

Commenting on the prevailing funding scenario in the Indian real estate sector, Agarwal said: “Quality office assets available at attractive valuations currently attract the majority of equity investments. Residential will continue to look for financing options till equity investors focus more on this sector. In the GST era, there is also a lot of interest in warehousing and logistics.”

“2017 saw more than $4.2 billion of investments flowing into real estate, missing 2016 investments by a whisker. 2018 will be equally good — and if REITs launch this year, we can certainly surpass the 2016 numbers with room to spare,” he explained.

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