Nexus Select Trust, the Blackstone-backed retail-focused real estate investment trust (REIT), is preparing for a significant expansion in eastern India as it moves into an advanced stage of due diligence on three malls across the region. The REIT aims to triple its owned retail footprint in the East over the next 12–18 months, marking one of its most ambitious growth phases yet.
According to industry sources, the REIT is considering several properties one of which is said to be Diamond City North Mall, a location on Jessore Road close to Nagerbazar in Kolkata. The local market anticipates that the transaction value could be as high as ₹600 crore, which is in line with the REIT's deepening concentration on fresh expansion areas.
In addition to Nexus exploring the purchase possibilities in Kolkata, the company is planning a regional buy strategy in the East to scout for locations in Patna, Ranchi, and Guwahati as well. Confirming the ongoing process, Jayen Naik, President (operations) at Nexus Select Trust, said, “We have the board approval to carry out due diligence on three malls. We hope to close the transaction within a year,” without divulging further details.
Nexus Select Trust currently owns 19 malls across 15 Indian cities, with particularly strong clusters in Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, the South through the Forum mall chain, and major western markets. Despite its expansive national presence, the REIT currently owns only one operational mall in Bhubaneswar in the eastern region.
While its sponsor, Blackstone, owns Kolkata’s landmark South City Mall, the property has not yet been transferred into the Nexus REIT portfolio. As a result, Nexus remains relatively underrepresented in the East, making the upcoming acquisitions strategically important.
Upon the completion of the proposed transactions, the management is looking forward to increasing their eastern gross leasable area (GLA) by three times to 1.5 million sq. ft. within a year, i.e. without South City Mall in their portfolio. Besides that, industry insiders reveal that Nexus, currently the largest mall operator in India, might be scouting the potential of a new Kolkata mall for their next venture, even though the project is rumored to be far from the market-ready stage.
Nexus, which has been on a consistent acquisition spree, is setting its sights on a portfolio of 30 malls by the year 2030. Their roadmap entails raising the owned retail area from 11 million sq. ft. to 19 million sq. ft., thereby layering 8 million sq. ft. of new assets over the course of the next few years.
Even though South City Mall is not yet part of the Nexus REIT’s ownership, Blackstone’s operational expertise will soon be visible on the ground. Naik explained the playbook: “We usually take a mall which is 8-10 years old and upgrade it further. The same will be done with South City,” he said.
The upgrade is scheduled for the following year and a half while the company will be running as usual. Among other things, the overhaul will feature changes in the interior design of the mall, the front of the building will be revamped, and the customer service will be enhanced. "TIt is already one of the top five malls in India. We plan to take it to the next level,", Chairman of the Board at South City Mall - Amit Kumar, said.
Several customer-centric initiatives are in the pipeline, including a loyalty programme, a dedicated Nexus mall app, ‘pink’ parking zones for women, special parking for pregnant women, and geotagging for vehicles to help visitors locate their cars easily, according to Nishank Joshi, CMO of South City. When the mall is eventually transferred to Nexus REIT’s ownership, South City will be rebranded, marking a new phase in the property’s evolution under the Blackstone-Nexus ecosystem.
Image source- southcityprojects.com
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