Raymond forays into real estate sector

Textile major Raymond is venturing into real estate development business and has started a new division Raymond Realty to drive its growth plans in this segment. The company owns nearly 125 acre contiguous land parcel at Thane’s Cadbury Junction and is looking to monetize it through its new business venture. For its maiden real estate development project, the branded apparel major has carved out a 20-acre land parcel of the total land holding and will be developing a nearly 3 million sqft residential project on it. In October 2010, Raymond reached an out-of-court settlement with its labour union representing nearly 2,000 employees at the Thane unit. The labour union received total compensation worth Rs 313 crore in lieu of giving its consent for real estate development on the land that used to house Raymond’s textile unit until then. The settlement provided clearances from the government bodies to Raymond for a real estate project on the land that housed its flagship textile factory since 1925. As part of its first project to be spread over 20 acres, Raymond Realty will be developing total 3,000 residential units across 10 towers.