In Short:
Welspun One, a fund management platform, has closed its second fund at ₹2,275 crore. The focus is on niche sectors like urban distribution centers and cold chain logistics. The funds have diverse investors and aim to add 8 million square feet to their portfolio. They have already delivered assets to clients like Tata Croma and plan to reduce logistics costs in India.
Welspun One Closes its Second Fund with ₹2,275 Crore!
Exciting news alert! Welspun One, the integrated fund and development management platform, has successfully closed its second fund with a whopping corpus of ₹2,275 crore, inclusive of co-investment commitments. This announcement was made in an official statement by the company.
Expanding Portfolio and Future Plans
The fund has already invested nearly 40 per cent of its capital in four different projects and is looking forward to investing the rest over the next 3-4 quarters. With a strong pipeline of deals, they aim to add 8 million square feet to their existing portfolio of 10 msf, making it a total of 18 msf. This expansion will involve a total project outlay of $1 billion.
Welspun One’s focus for this fund is on “new age” warehousing assets, including urban distribution centers, cold chain facilities, agro logistics, and port and airport-based logistics.
Impressive Investor Base
The funds for this second fund were raised from a diverse group of 800 limited partners, which includes high-net-worth individuals, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporates, and domestic institutions. Combine this with their first fund raised in 2021, and Welspun One now boasts an investor base of around 1,000 unique investors.
First Fund Success and Portfolio Highlights
In their first fund, Welspun One had raised about ₹500 crore and had successfully committed it to six assets with a development potential of 7.2 msf across five cities in India. The portfolio includes renowned clients such as Tata Croma, Delhivery, FM Logistics, Asian Paints, and Ecom Express. One highlight was the recent exit through the sale of a 13-acre park in NCR.
Niche Sectors and Strategic Alignments
Welspun One is focusing on niche sectors that offer the potential for superior returns due to low existing supply, strong demand, growth opportunities, and limited competition. Examples include urban logistics development in Thane, MMR, and a partnership with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority for industrial and warehousing infrastructure development in JNPA SEZ.
“Our commitment to advancing critical logistics infrastructure is in perfect alignment with India’s strategic objective of reducing logistics costs from 14% to 8%, thereby enhancing the global competitiveness of our industries,” said Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman of Welspun World.
