Godrej Industries has announced the launch of Godrej Capital, which will be the holding entity for Godrej Housing Finance, a housing finance firm and Godrej Finance, which is a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
The latest move is in line with the group's overall plans to scale up its presence in the financial services segment.
In a corroboration of the diversified conglomerate's focus on financial services space, the group has also committed to infuse Rs 1,500 crore in the venture and expects the business to require a total of Rs 5,000 crore of equity investment by 2026.
Pirojsha Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Capital said that the funding requirements of the venture would be met by the parent entity.
Meanwhile, the business will expand its retail operations in six new cities this financial year in addition to diversifying customer segments and launching new business lines, stated a release from the company.
Currently, Godrej Capital has a presence in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, and Pune. The six new cities being eyed include Jaipur, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Indore and Surat.
“Godrej Capital will form a key pillar in the overall growth of the Godrej Group," said Godrej.
"We started with home loans in select geographies in 2020. Having seen strong customer acceptance of our offering, we are very optimistic about the prospects of our financial services venture and will be entering new markets and enhancing our reach across key target sectors and consumer segments," he added.
Incidentally, the company will continue focusing on the growth of secured loans consisting of home loans and Loans Against Property (LAP).
Manish Shah, MD&CEO, Godrej Capital, while speaking to media, said that the venture will focus on housing loans and LAP and might not be looking at other segments (consumer finance, education loans for instance) at least for the next two years.
"We have our hands full with near term plans," said Shah while adding that "the next 12 to 24 months" will probably not see any new segments being entered into.
Also read: Godrej Industries launches of financial services vertical; pumps in Rs 1,500 cr