Certus Capital to Invest ₹2000 Cr in Housing and Mixed-Use Projects in FY27
Bengaluru: Real estate investment firm Certus Capital plans to invest around ₹2000 crore in residential, office, and mixed-use development projects in 2026-27, according to a top executive. The Mumbai-headquartered firm will deploy the capital through a combination of its proprietary balance sheet and its recently launched alternative investment fund (AIF).
Certus Capital is currently raising its second Category-2 AIF—Certus TFCI Real Estate Fund—of ₹500 crore plus a green-shoe option of ₹500 crore. Tourism Finance Corp. of India (TFCI) is an anchor investor in the fund and has committed 10% of the fund size.
Founded in 2018 by Ashish Khandelia, former director and co-head of real estate business in India at global asset management firm KKR, Certus Capital focuses on a structured, flexible, and execution-led approach to real estate financing that can tap a wide investor base. “The investments will be done mostly in the form of structured credit. By virtue of having both AIF and deal-level investing capability, it gives us a lot more flexibility in terms of risk-reward. We can do financing for land acquisition, working capital, all the way to last-mile funding,” Khandelia told Mint in an interview.
The push comes amid a surge in capital flows into Indian real estate, with investments hitting a record $14.3 billion in 2025, up 25% year-on-year, according to property advisory CBRE India in January. Land and project development sites dominated the real estate investment landscape last year. “The depth of domestic capital, complemented by steady foreign participation, positions India well for continued momentum in 2026,” said Anshuman Magazine, chairman and CEO for India, South-East Asia, the Middle East & Africa at CBRE.
In FY26, Certus has committed to around ₹1,400 crore of investments. “The demand for capital continues to remain high. As the residential sector sees some amount of plateauing, developers need financing across a project’s capital lifecycle. So far, our average deal sizes have been in the range of ₹100-200 crore. This will increase to ₹200-500 crore,” Khandelia added.
Certus Capital operates across the top-tier cities in the country and also selectively extends its approach into international markets, building a diversified portfolio across residential, commercial, retail, and mixed-use developments. Certus Capital has submitted an application to set up a fund management entity at Gift City that will help in broader global capital participation. “We have an aspiration to be not only an India manager, which will be our mainstay, but also opportunistically look at international geographies,” Khandelia said.
The company is focused on selectively expanding its global investment management business. “We have identified a couple of geographies. We took measured bets on completed assets in Dubai last year. Despite all the geopolitical developments, the way our deals are structured, our investments are holding quite well. We are of the view that these kinds of situations are likely to create some interesting opportunities for us,” he added.
