Farshid Cooper, Managing Director, Spenta Corporation
How has been the journey of Spenta Corporation? Founded in 1989, the company had been mostly doing redevelopment projects in South Mumbai which were smaller in volume but were high ticket projects. Being redevelopment properties, it required strategic coordination with all the stakeholders for completing the projects. About 10 years back we started working on Greenfield projects in other parts of Mumbai. Our expertise lies in building residential projects. Where do the revenues for developer’s lie- affordable or luxury residential? According to me affordability is related to the location of a project and the definition varies from South Mumbai to Thane. Moreover, luxury projects have their own demand and clientele which will always exist. Likewise, some developers consider slum rehabilitation projects as asset light model but according to me such projects still require high capital investment and incubation period is longer. The time from getting consent of all the inhabitants to actual start of the project is quite long. How genuine are schemes offered by developers during festival times? Developers utilize the festive season to launch various marketing campaigns and these schemes are part of the sales strategy. Most of the developers offer genuine discounts and incentives and they are just tools to attract buyers. Once the buyer is attracted, he needs to be convinced about the product and its fitment because homebuyers are well aware and smart and need proper convincing to buy the product. The subvention schemes only help generate enquiries and leads. Is Indian real estate becoming attractive for Indian & international investments? RERA and GST has helped in a big way in bringing back the confidence of investors and buyers. Many corporate entities are foraying in real estate as the sector is now getting regularised and more professional. Investors too trust brand names when selecting projects. The smaller or local developers too are streamlining their process as that is what is now required to survive. Overall, with rising consolidation in all segments, Indian real estate will see rising liquidity and fund flows. What are the future growth plans for the company? Spenta Corporation projects are spread across Mumbai from Forjett Street, Hughes Road, Altamount Road, Walkeshwar, Breach Candy, Tardeo t suburbs like Andheri, Powai, Chembur, Thane and Mahim. The company has over 12 million square feet under development. While our focus will remain on residential- both mid-income and luxury, we will also be looking towards developing commercial projects but geographically our footprint will remain in Mumbai for near future.
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