The Ambuja Neotia group, the real estate-to-hotels conglomerate, is preparing for a potential listing of its hospitality business sometime in FY27, while also exploring the option of bringing in external capital from private equity (PE) players.
The Kolkata-based firm's Chairman, Harshavardhan Neotia, told Moneycontrol during an interaction that the process of amalgamating various hotel and hospitality businesses under one entity has been initiated, and the aim is to finish that by the current financial year.
"We are thinking of listing our hospitality vertical. All our properties are in different companies. Many of them have some other partner. So we are trying to consolidate and form one entity by mergers, acquisitions, and divestments. We will have most of this closed by 31st March 2026. Once we have the structure sorted out, depending on the market and other factors, we will determine whether we will raise private equity or go straight for a public issue," Neotia said.
While the group has primarily been known for its real estate holdings in eastern India, it has also steadily built up a significant portfolio in the hospitality segment. Of the estimated group turnover of Rs 2,000 crore in FY25, around 25 percent came from hospitality.
The group owns and operates three hotels under its own brand, but owns 10 more which are managed by third-party operators, including the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), better known as the Taj Group. Most of these are located in eastern and north-eastern India, including Kolkata, Siliguri, Patna, Darjeeling, and Gangtok.
Ambuja Neotia has an alliance with IHCL for its Tree Of Life Resorts chain, which IHCL and Ambuja Neotia own in a 55-45 joint venture (JV). Neotia said that they have 19 hotels in the pipeline, a majority of which will be operated by third parties, including some under IHCL's SeleQtions brand.
Neotia is expecting to see a major increase in Tree of Life's footprint with IHCL planning to add 80 new properties under the brand, which already has 14 properties in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and elsewhere.
As for the overall expansion of the group beyond its traditional base in Kolkata, where it has set up standalone residential and township projects, malls, offices, etc, Neotia pointed to projects in Siliguri as well as in Haldia, and recent forays into Patna.
The upcoming residential projects will primarily be in Kolkata and Siliguri, in the price range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 per square foot.
"We have signed up around 12 million square feet, the majority of which is in residential real estate, including some retail. Around half of it is expected to materialise in the next three to four years; the rest will take time due to land-related issues," Neotia said.
Some of this is expected to come up on a large 25-acre land parcel at New Town, on the north-eastern edge of Kolkata, where Ambuja Neotia plans residences, a hotel, and some retail.
Neotia added that they're open to tying up with private credit players to raise additional funds for business development, including land buys.
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