Brother vs. Brother: Lodha firms face off in Mumbai's hot housing market
Days after an "amicable settlement" hinted at peace in the Lodha family, Abhinandan Lodha's House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) is set to challenge his elder brother Abhishek's Macrotech Developers with a foray into Mumbai's coveted housing market.
HoABL, which earlier mainly sold plots outside the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), is now staking its claim with three initial projects, signaling a fresh battle for market share in India's financial capital.
'The right way to get into this business was horizontal, which was largely unexplored and had a massive room for innovation. We believe now is also the right time to replicate the same on the vertical development side,' said Abhinandan Lodha, chairman of HoABL, during a press briefing in Mumbai on Wednesday. 'Most of our land parcels across India also lend themselves to vertical development in some way or the other.'
HoABL will make the foray starting with three projects in the Mumbai region, including an American Culture Center in Marine Lines, a project overlooking Chowpatty beach, and a joint development agreement (JDA) with Mittal Builders in Naigaon.
The company plans to invest ₹ 2,500 crore in the three projects, expecting to generate a revenue of about ₹ 3,500 crore. 'We think it will be largely funded through internal accruals and sales. We don't expect to take a debt in excess of ₹ 250 to 300 crore for these projects,' said Lodha.
Since its inception, the Abhinandan Lodha firm has focused on plotted development outside the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a market which is dominated by Macrotech Developers.
"MMR is the most lucrative property market among all the top cities, and also the most competitive. Macrotech has scaled up its business solely from a single market like MMR. While the entry of Abhinanda Lodha into Mumbai doesn't threaten Macrotech as of now, it signals direct competition with Macrotech," said a property analyst, who didn't wish to be named.
'While we will be starting vertical development in Mumbai now, which is the hangout of development, we also believe we will be able to carry the same vertical development to a lot of places like Amritsar, Nagpur and, Vrindavan," Lodha said.
The announcement comes on the back of the company receiving approvals for two of the three projects including the American Culture Center and the JDA project, construction for both of which will start by December. HoABL also expects to initiate the development of the third project within this fiscal.
HoABL also expects the vertical business to make up almost half of their revenues in the next 2-3 years. 'The horizontal business will continue to expand at 30% per annum, that's our stated goal. The vertical business is just starting up but there is an enormous scope to scale it up and in next two or three years both will contribute equal revenue to the business,' he added.
HoABL has a land bank of about 3 million square feet in Mumbai and about 1,200 acres in total. Close to 5% of this land is appropriate for vertical construction, Lodha added.
Macrotech, which operates under the 'Lodha' brand name, is a dominant real estate player in MMR, followed by Oberoi Realty Ltd and Bengaluru's Prestige Group.
In recent years, a number of developers have entered the country's most valuable market, which offers better profit margins compared to any other city.
In the coming months, India's largest developer DLF Ltd is set to make its entry into MMR. Bengaluru's Sattva Group is also set to launch its first two projects in the city this year.
First Published: 23 Apr 2025, 10:04 PM IST
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