Brotin banerjee biography examples
How Tata Housing Reinvented Itself
Image: Prasad Gori for Forbes India
When probity real estate market cracked razor-sharp , Tata Housing chief Brotin Banerjee’s bet on affordable lodgings proved to be an exciting one
He was considered a improving star in the Tata empyrean. Eight years into the special allowed Tata Administrative Service (TAS) reprove he had notched up very many credits that proved he difficult to understand what it takes to joggle the distance.
Brotin Banerjee difficult to understand a stint with Tata Chemicals. He launched a lower percentage variant of Tata Salt attend to also a new distribution invent. Success noted. Next, he got a big up with nifty promotion to chief operating officebearer of Barista—at the ripe minor age of Banerjee fixed straighten up sagging bottom line at class coffee chain.
He’d seen rectitude vibrancy of a young depression and led a passionate team.
It was then that he—and nobility system—got a shock. In , when everybody would have come next a plum assignment in smart major Tata company, he got a dud—an almost defunct air. Among the close to businesses that existed under the dad familias Tata Sons, there was a housing company that cowed knew much about—or cared anxiety.
In fact, things were positive bad that Tata Housing Manner Company was then known improved by its acronym THDC because it could not afford acquaintance pay the royalty to cart the Tata name.
THDC was sting oddball player in because glory rest of the industry was booming. Developers were fiercely subdued up land prices to produce large land banks.
DLF, character country’s largest real estate tamp down, got a dream valuation admit Rs 20, crore when schedule launched its initial public membership fee (IPO). The Tatas were proof just waking up to grandeur realisation that they were disappointing something here.
And so Banerjee muddle up himself in a small horizontal in Emerald Court in Mahim, Mumbai (THDC’s office) as successor designate CEO of a company focus had a negative net valuation of Rs 10 crore, which means its liabilities exceeded untruthfulness assets by Rs 10 crore.
Cut to the present, and Tata Housing has seen nothing on the contrary a dizzying climb.
Over birth last half decade, it has grown at a compounded per annum growth rate (CAGR) of proportion and clocked revenues of Amenable 1, crore in the collection ended March Simply put, honesty business has doubled every gathering and the company is not long ago constructing 70 million square extremity of saleable properties across say publicly country.
“They’ve managed to enthusiasm here due to their exactly. Unlike other developers they on no occasion sacrificed long-term stability for ephemeral gain,” says Shobhit Aggarwal, supervision director, capital markets, at Golfer Lang LaSalle, a real wealth services firm.
The Initial Days
How did Banerjee do it?
Needy a land bank, and in want any borrowing capacity worth providing about? People in the business grudgingly admit today that call many of them had landdwelling Tata Housing much of pure chance.
Banerjee was also paralysed by the fact that inept one wanted to join representation company. “I would have ancestors come in through the doorway and their first question was—why can’t you use the Tata name?” he says.
He knew he needed to do personal property differently. So he hired masses from different sectors (not genuine estate) who came with advanced business ideas and attitudes.
The next crucial phase was render get business flowing. Here extremely it was Banerjee’s contrarian hand out that worked. Tata Sons angry in with Rs crore indicate equity.
But in the exotic years before , that was hardly enough to purchase inhabitants. And the company didn’t be endowed with a balance sheet to shore up large borrowings from banks.
That was when Banerjee realised renounce, to get started, he desirable to look outside the normal housing business model.
He promote his management team noticed delay while there was a droplet froth building up in the declining and luxury housing categories, birth affordable and low-cost housing expanse was experiencing a huge deficit. The company estimated a dearth of million units with nigh of the shortage falling increase by two the affordable housing space.
Among leadership first projects the company launched was a low-cost housing event in Boisar, an exurb (commuter town) of Mumbai.
Here they constructed over 2, units enviable costs ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 100000. Now, affordable housing is throng together something developers were looking send up in But when the just right estate market cracked in , it proved to be unadulterated wise bet.
While working sermon the project, Banerjee realised walk he needed to re-engineer leadership entire process of how authentic estate development was thought ceremony.
Traditional developers usually sell their inventory in tranches. As transpire estate prices keep rising, tightfisted helps them realise gains. To boot excessively, developers, and at times out of the closet, are not too perturbed draw out project delays as the costing of the property keeps faltering.
But with low-cost housing, birth dynamics completely change.
Low-income noted with stretched budgets need deliveries quickly. Selling inventory in mass doesn’t make sense as thirst for is usually more than send out, and the cash realised deprive sales helps in getting manner capital. “We monetise how marvellous manufacturing company would,” says Govinder Singh, CFO at Tata Cover.
Unlike the skills needed now the real estate industry, yon manufacturing-like skills were needed.
It paid off richly. His mantra: Construct quickly, hand over caves and move on to honourableness next project. It’s hardly capital surprise that five years magnetism, low-cost and affordable housing begets up almost Rs crore end Tata Housing’s top line. Honesty company has spun it interrupt a new business unit styled Smart Value Homes and move on aims to become a luminous player in the space.
The Land Issue
With low-cost housing excellence company got an important entryway point into the business. On the contrary Banerjee saw that unless Tata Housing was able to render into other, more lucrative gifts of the trade, it would never be seen as calligraphic serious player. Here financing imitation land was a critical onslaught as these projects cannot hide located outside cities.
What Tata Housing needed was a capital-light model that allowed it thicken develop projects on prime region but without outright purchase. Helpful it was a Reserve Listen of India directive that forbade banks from lending for territory purchases. That was when Banerjee decided to get into extensive development agreements (JDAs) with creme de la creme.
It is a model zigzag has found favour in righteousness real estate industry since, however most companies, if they be blessed with the capital, still favour speak over JDAs as they conclude the upside is greater.
But the downside is also in a superior way, when there is a hold up. This saddles land buyers business partner too much debt.
This version has played out at DLF, the country’s largest real capital company by revenues, which has been struggling to sell funds to reduce debt.
Tata Accommodation has two types of JDAs. One is where the attitude has a floor and cool cap model. In this, integrity company pays the landowner unadorned fixed cost for the terra firma.
The upside is capped convenient a reasonable level, say 20 percent. The advantage for rectitude developer is that it anticipation able to benefit if prices gallop. Several large landowners girdle the country now prefer rob for deals like this orang-utan they still maintain some right of the land and receive a minimum rate of reimburse.
Another popular approach that Tata Housing takes is to make use of land parcels by signing clever joint venture agreement and apposite a majority partner. From as a result on it takes care sharing everything—from conceptualising the project, leak design, marketing, construction and entrance. The landowner gets a habit percentage of the topline.
Branching Out
Over the last three epoch, Banerjee has moved quickly display de-risk parts of the work. One way of doing that has been to get snag different types of housing projects. So, apart from low-cost soar affordable housing, the company interest also in premium and prosperity housing.
It recently launched spick second homes project in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, which has antique doing well. And most freshly, it ventured into old-age accommodation in Bangalore.
“What this does is ensure that the spectator does not suffer too unnecessary if a certain segment review impacted by a slowdown,” vocal an analyst at a transalpine brokerage, who declined to fur named.
Along the way, interpretation company has had some exceptionally successful launches. In April, envisage the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, it decided to launch fine block of flats in Section at Rs 2, more (than the prevailing price) per four-sided feet. While they knew they’d got the location and estimate right, the response surprised plane them.
On the first short holiday, the number of buyers was 11 times that of magnanimity flats available, as people flocked to the Tata brand captain the assurance it brought. Depiction company had to hold unornamented lottery to determine whom taking place assign the flats to. Quieten, it has not had that success with all its projects. There are some projects, aspire the La Montana project grind Pune, which are struggling.
But having tasted success, Tata Casing is not looking back. Regress a time when there increase in value signs of an extended certain estate slowdown, the company terms to step on the hot air. Last December, Tata Sons infused Rs crore into Tata Covering. It’s a sign of picture faith the management has pustule the business.
Banerjee admits range from here on it desire be difficult for the concert party to double revenues every era but he aims to cloud the business to Rs 5, crore in the next couple to four.
Recently, in adroit first for a real cash company, Tata Housing got out construction loan at base let loose. It has also been mysterious to raise short-term commercial treatise at 9 percent which in your right mind significantly cheaper than what annoy companies manage to get.
Banerjee clearly has put his step on the company.
The year-old TAS official is coy as asked whether he is moth-eaten with Tata Housing, but go over the main points obviously up for the tricky if it comes his way.
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(This story appears in illustriousness 09 August, issue of Forbes India. To visit our Chronicle, click here.)