Birla Estates: KT Jithendran's Long-Term Vision for Real Estate Excellence

KT Jithendran joined Birla Estates, the real estate venture of the Aditya Birla Group under Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd (formerly Century Textiles and Industries), in 2016, when the group's real estate vision was in its infancy. It would launch its first project three years later, in Mumbai's satellite city of Kalyan, followed by projects in Bengaluru, and then its flagship project in Worli, the luxury Birla Niyaara, sales of which stunned observers in a crowded micro-market.

Part of the sales has been driven by the weight of the Aditya Birla brand, as Jithendran said in a recent interaction with Moneycontrol. He also conceded that the hard part—execution and delivery—comes next, with some large developers with strong brand equity often struggling with delivering their projects at the promised time or quality.

“We started small, but today we are among the leading real estate developers in India. Our growth has been driven largely by the group’s strong brand equity and the immense potential the brand carries. In real estate, brand trust, transparency, and legacy are key currencies—and we see that every day,” Jithendran said.

He added, “Of course, with this comes great responsibility. Expectations from the market are very high whenever we enter a new market. Meeting those expectations has been both our biggest challenge and our biggest motivation... Brand helps in acquiring new land parcels and driving sales. But what truly adds to the brand is excellent execution and creating world-class communities. Borrowing from the parent brand helps you start—but building your own legacy comes from delivery and design”.

During the interaction, Jithendran made it clear that neither he nor the company are considering short-term bets or rat races in the real estate market, a cyclical business despite consolidation in the industry. And that, he said, is reflected in how the company builds, hires, and even services customers after project handovers are complete.

“The overriding philosophy, in an inherently cyclical industry, is to focus on the long term. We adopt strong risk management and long-term investing discipline across financials, projects, and design. Everything we do—our financial discipline and project selection—reflects this long-term focus. We aim not just to be the biggest developer, but the most reputed and customer-centric one,” Jithendran said.

The long-term strategy is also reflected in Birla Estates' approach towards redevelopment projects in Mumbai. The firm announced its foray into the business earlier this year, but it has also taken its time to form a pipeline in redevelopment projects, despite significant competition.

Some observers have expressed concerns about developers underwriting “unrealistic” price points for such projects in sought-after micro-markets, such as south Mumbai. For Jithendran, long-term value remains the primary consideration towards taking on a redevelopment project, even as it continues to evaluate multiple proposals.

“We don’t subscribe to unrealistic assumptions. Financial discipline and long-term viability are essential. If the numbers don’t make sense, we simply walk away. We won’t promise what we can’t deliver,” Jithendran remarked. He added that besides projects in south Mumbai, the firm is evaluating multiple projects in Bandra, Khar, and Juhu, noting that many societies have approached the company by themselves, due to the Group's brand pull.

Birla Estates now has multiple projects each in Mumbai, National Capital Region, and Bengaluru, also launching its first project in Pune earlier this year. It has a pipeline of projects of around Rs 70,000 crore—excluding redevelopment projects—in terms of gross development value, of which around Rs 25,000 crore worth of projects have been launched.

Jithendran said of the launched inventory, 80 percent have been sold, and the company has also taken a price hike on the second tower at Niyaara, defying market concerns of an oversupply in Mumbai's luxury housing market. The launch of the third and final tower in the Rs 11,000 crore project is imminent, Jithendran said, with the firm being in the planning and approvals stage.

The brand equity has also helped the company bring in marquee lenders and investors, such as Mitsubishi Estate and the World Bank Group-backed International Finance Corporation, primarily at the project level. The company remains well-capitalised, with the Aditya Birla Real Estate stock growing by more than 300 percent over a five-year period, and more money for business development and execution also coming in through the sale of the pulp-and-paper business to ITC for nearly Rs 3,500 crore.

Its next aim, Jithendran said, is to ramp up its commercial offerings, as part of its long-term strategy. Birla Estates has a small portfolio in offices, including the Birla Centurion and Birla Aurora in Worli, and it plans to bring in external capital to increase its rental income in a capital-heavy business.

“Currently, we generate around Rs 140 crores in annual rental income and we aim to scale that to Rs 1,000 crore over the next five to seven years. We’re also looking for strategic partners, since commercial real estate is capital-intensive. Stable annuity income is important to our long-term strategy,” said Jithendran.