New Delhi: Bangalore-based Century Real Estate recorded a revenue of 1,800 crores in the financial year 2024-25, informed the company's managing director Ravindra Pai. The company plans to launch about five residential projects in the financial year 2025-26 and there are about two million square feet of commercial real estate projects.
Pai says that he is not in the race to be one of the top 10 national developers, instead wants to grow and remain a top player in Bengaluru. In a special conversation with Ankit Sharma of Etrealty, he talked about the company's current and future plans and see how he sees the real estate market moving in the near period. Edited Excerpt:
What was your revenue in FY24 and what is your expected revenue in FY25?
In FY24, our revenue was ₹ 1,042 crore with a profit margin of 30–35%. In FY25, we initially set a target of 1,800 crores and we have achieved it.
How was the financial year 2024-25 for you?
Last year, one of our major projects was a luxury development in Century Regalia, Indiranagar. This is an 8.5-acre project with a built-up space of about one million square feet. We launched the first tower in May 2024, and the second tower was launched in March 2025. The project consists of around 300+ apartments, with a total salesable price of 2,200+ crores.
We also launched the second phase of our Villa Project, Wintorson, with 25 acres and 58 villas initially. The new phase included 55 villas, each of which was priced at ₹ 3.2 to ₹ 3.5 crore.
What are your plans for the next financial year (FY26)?
We planned to launch several projects last year, but some were carried forward due to delay in approval. However, now we have strong visibility for upcoming launch. In Q1 FY26, we will launch a mixed-use of 15 acres near Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Eastern Bengaluru, with more than 2,200 crore GDP (GDV).
In Q2 FY26, we will launch a plotted project spread over 1.5 million square feet in North Bengaluru, in which. There will be a gross development price of 1,200 crores.
In the second half of the financial year, we plan to start mixed-use of 19 acres with apartments and villas near the airport road. The gross development price for this project is about 2,500 crores.
We are also planning to launch a 15 -acre residential project in GDV of 1.6 million square feet and GD 1,300 crore.
In Mysuru, we plan to introduce a plotted development.
Are you planning to expand beyond Bengaluru?
No, we are very concentrated on Bengaluru. Real Estate is a hyperlokal business, and we believe that our strength lies in taking advantage of our expertise within this market. However, we are planning a planned development project in Mysuru in the next financial year.
Will the company continue to focus on self-development, or are you open to joint enterprises?
While our portfolio mainly involves self-developed projects, we take the opportunities of joint development (JD) when they align with our business strategy.
Of your total revenue, what percentage does joint growth come?
Currently, only 10% of our portfolio comes from joint development. However, as we develop from a pure land-owner company for a full development company, we aim to increase the JD share to 30-40% over the next three years. We want to demonstrate our ability to develop third-party land, ensuring that we continue to move beyond our existing land holdings.
Will you consider giving your land for joint venture or joint development?
No, we like to develop projects ourselves. We have internal expertise and resources to execute our development. However, we have a combined development with a 2.6 million square foot commercial project reputation in Yalehanka. The launch will take place this year, but it will take about three years to complete the construction.
What is the composition of your real estate portfolio in different sections?
A large part of our portfolio is residential, with a mixture of plotted development and apartments. Around 70% of our portfolio is residential, while commercial real estate is 30%. However, we plan to gradually increase our commercial section to 50% over the next three years.
What is the percentage division between your different residential sections?
Our portfolio is about 70% cheaper and in mid-or-income housing while 30% is in luxury segment.
Revenue-wise, division is close to 50–50, as luxury projects have more ticket size.
For FY26, will the company start more luxury projects?
Yes, we hope that our luxury segment will have to grow, and the overall mixture may move close to 50–50 next year.
What is your average attainment for residential projects?
In FY24, our average feeling was 9,000 per sq ft, which has improved in FY25 of 11,500 per sq ft.
How much business place do you currently have? what are your future plans?
We have already completed 6.75 lakh square feet of occupation certificate (OCS) and another 6.25 lakh square feet under-construction. Over the next five years, we plan to develop seven million square feet, of which two million square feet will be developed in the next 1.5 years.
What is the average fare per square foot for your commercial properties?
Currently we are getting average, on average, 90–100 per sq ft.
How much land bank do you keep?
Currently we have a land bank, out of which about 3,000 acres of land is 90 percent in Bengaluru and the rest is in Mysuru. Initially, we were purely zamindars and participated with developers for joint development. Later, we infected for joint development with builders. And now, we focus on self-development, executing our projects from beginning to end.
Builders are in detail mode with many people visiting various cities. What do you plan for the company?
We are not in one of the top 10 national developers. Our focus is to remain a top player in Bengaluru. Currently, we are already among the top 10 developers in the residential market of Bengaluru. If we expand further, it will be within this city.
Unlike some contestants, we do not have inventory to wait for value praise. Our strategy is to sell efficiently at the right price point.
Do you hope that real estate prices will go ahead? Or can market improvement over the next few years?
Between 2013 and 2020, real estate prices barely increased. In the last two years the price increase was higher than an improvement, operated by rising input costs (construction, labor and land). The demand remains strong, but prices may not increase indefinitely. If prices grow very quickly, the sales velocity will slow down. I hope the prices will stabilize, but I am not worried about the demand.
