Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP), an integrated fund and development management platform focused on investing in Grade-A warehousing and logistics real estate, has successfully raised Rs 1,000 crores within four months of launching its second fund.
It has also announced the opening of its green shoe option to raise an additional Rs 1,000 crore. The potential corpus could reach Rs 2,000 crore upon completion of the green shoe option.
With an advanced pipeline of land parcels in key warehousing micro markets such as MMR, Chennai, Bangalore, and Lucknow already in place, Fund 2 is well-positioned to add 10-12 million square feet of new projects to its existing portfolio. This approach could create an aggregate portfolio of 16-18 million square feet over the next 4-5 years across first and last-mile facilities in Tier 1 and 2 cities. The plan entails an overall investment outlay of over RS 8,000 crore, which will propel Welspun One to assets under management of $1 billion.
Welspun One was the first to recognize the untapped potential for domestic investors, WOLP provided this opportunity through the financialization of real estate by launching India's first alternative investment fund (AIF) of Rs 500 crore in 2021. This fund successfully committed the entire corpus across six investments aggregating to around 6.5MM square feet in short ~1.5 years from its first close. Further, the portfolio has also seen excellent traction on the ground, with ~50% of the first fund's portfolio leased and delivered.
Welspun One continues to focus on responsible development, adhering to green building standards and pushing for overall environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. The company strengthened its governance by bringing independent members onto its Board of Directors and Investment Committee.
The launch of their investor portal, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the Indian private equity space, designed for increased transparency, set the gold standard for investor reporting and transparency.
The warehousing sector continues to exhibit strong growth, with record high demand of 51.3 million square feet in FY23, implying a CAGR of 24% during FY17-23. In square feet, warehousing demand is approximately equal to the demand for offices, making it among the largest commercial real estate consumers alongside offices.
Balkrishan Goenka, chairman of the Welspun Group, stated, "Warehousing continues to be a high conviction area for us, and we believe the industry will grow multi-fold given the government's sustained policy focus on critical transport infrastructure, manufacturing, and consumption. Welspun One remains committed to delivering best-in-class infrastructure per the government's vision of developing a seamless and resilient logistics system Pan-India. It is heartening to see the domestic alternatives industry growing meaningfully, channelling domestic capital toward productive investments that spur economic growth and nation-building."
Anshul Singhal, managing director of Welspun One Logistics Parks, shared, "Our journey in the warehousing sector has been about weaving together the vital threads of investor trust, governance, execution, timely delivery, and a relentless focus on our customers. We are deeply grateful to our investors for their unwavering faith in us, which has powered our successful second fundraiser. It's heartening to be part of this dynamic growth story of India's warehousing and logistics sector and to contribute by ensuring a robust platform for investments and a commitment to deliver excellence. This endeavour mirrors not just the potential of the sector but also the shared vision we hold with our partners and stakeholders."
