Kotak Realty Fund to invest over ₹800 crore in 2 Gurugram projects

Kotak Realty Fund, the real estate arm of Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited, is pumping in ₹800 crore into two ongoing Gurugram-based housing projects of realty firm Smartworld Developers.

The first phase of fund infusion involves investment into Smartworld Sky Arc and Trump Residences in Sector 69, Gurugram. These together have a gross development value (GDV) exceeding ₹8,200 crore.

This funding is part of the Kotak fund’s partnership with Smartworld Developers, promoted by the Bansal Family and an affiliate of M3M India.

The company did not specify how many phases of funding the partnership will entail.

Pratik Tibrewala, senior vice-president and group head of corporate finance and banking at M3M India Group, said Smartworld enters this relationship from a position of financial strength, with the ambition to scale it beyond phase 1.

“More than a project-level investment, the partnership is envisioned as a long-term institutional relationship. It combines Smartworld’s development platform and luxury residential pipeline with Kotak Realty Fund’s institutional capital and real estate investment expertise,” the developer said in a statement.

Tibrewala added that India’s luxury residential market is undergoing a structural transformation, with institutional capital increasingly backing developers that combine product quality, execution and governance.

“Kotak Realty Fund’s partnership with Smartworld is a strong endorsement of the platform we have built,” he said.

Kotak has invested across Indian real estate cycles for more than two decades. Its latest fund closed at nearly $1 billion, anchored by a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), alongside the National Pension Service of South Korea.

Smartworld, on the other hand, holds space in the premium and branded residences segment. It anchors developments associated with global names, including the Trump Organization and global luxury fashion brand Elie Saab in Gurugram.

The realty firm stated that Smartworld Sky Arc has already recorded around 94 per cent sell-through across 2.6 million square feet (msf) of saleable area.

“The company has historically funded development through internal accruals, with fully paid, unencumbered land and a virtually net debt-free development platform,” Smartworld said.

Its wider Bansal family platform also collaborated with US-based luxury jewellery and high-end watchmaking brand Jacob & Co, through M3M.

M3M and Smartworld together rank among India’s Top 5 real estate developers, with projects launched representing a GDV of over ₹1.28 trillion, with over 31.8 msf delivered and more than 55.8 msf under construction.

The platforms have committed ₹10,000-crore capital expenditure for 2026-27 (FY27).

(Disclosure: Entities controlled by the Kotak family have a significant holding in Business Standard Pvt Ltd)