It’s Mumbai from me, and it’s Mumbai from him

Mondrian Alpha has provided financial advisory services to credit and real estate investors for over a decade. Our real estate practice supports clients across both direct property and real estate-backed opportunities—helping them expand teams, enter new markets, manage succession, and deploy capital effectively.

To support clients pursuing opportunities in Asia—whether for diversification or growth—we have compiled this research, drawing on public data and interviews with regional real estate investors.

Asia’s 48 countries each offer distinct investment landscapes. While Japan and China are well covered in existing research, India remains comparatively underexplored despite rising investor interest since 2018. With improving regulations and the launch of its first REIT in March, India is increasingly viewed as a promising emerging market. Several of our clients have already begun investing there, discreetly, to limit competition and preserve pricing advantages. Our interviewees’ identities are therefore protected, though their insights aim to prompt internal discussions on Indian investment opportunities.

“Despite concerns about India’s current economic situation, it remains an emerging economy with scale and potential for high returns. Yes, the risks are higher, but investors are weighing whether they’re worth taking.”

India’s real estate growth is driven by a strengthening middle class and education sector—trends that coincide with expanding office demand, especially from FinTech firms. India now ranks alongside the U.S. as a leading growth hub for Real Estate FinTechs. According to CBRE, India has seen 14,600 new start-ups over the past three years, with more than 1,200 receiving $22 billion in private equity funding.

PWC projects that by 2025, over 60% of global construction will occur in emerging markets, with India leading in housing completions—averaging over 11 million annually since 2012. As one interviewee noted, “if the office market takes off, other sectors will follow.”

Rather than rely solely on advisory reports, we sought insights directly from principal investors. Drawing on over a decade of experience as a real estate headhunter, I spoke with two professionals: one based in Mumbai with 11 years in pan-Asian real estate, and another with a decade in pan-European credit and direct investments, now preparing to lead an Indian investment platform.

An interview with two heads of India at Mid-Market Private Equity Shops.

The Profiles

Both professionals have over 10 years’ experience within financial services, and both have backgrounds in the Real Estate Investment space. One has 10 years of experience in Europe, whilst the other has 10 years of experience specifically in Asia. Our European investment professional has been mapping out the Indian investment landscape for the last 15 months and concluded, “The situation is worse than I thought, the opportunity is bigger than I imagined. Take current returns in Europe and add double digits, at least”.

So, India, what’s the catalyst for the move?

Europe: I’ve been talking about doing it for the last 2 years, but 15 months ago, things got more serious. Right now, India is where Europe was 10 years ago. We haven’t done a deal yet, but we know the opportunity is there, and if we are going to do any deals there, we need to be on the ground. We already have a back office function out there, but we are going to have 3 investment professionals in Mumbai, we’ve hired one, and we are looking for one more, so if you know anyone…

India: India, being an emerging economy, has a lot of scale; you can target higher returns, but the risks are higher. Most of the investors have considered whether the risk is worth taking. In India, in real estate, real estate is driven by strong demographics, good education and a strong middle class that has been spending more. This is where demand comes from. Over the last decade, all those drivers have been on an upswing, which creates an environment that PE guys need to be present in. Middle-class spending has increased, warehousing and the presence of Amazon and Walmart. The office is driven by more corporates looking at South Asia. If the office takes off, everything follows. Look at Canary Wharf.

Is there an interest in India from your investors?

Europe: We think the opportunity is there; however, we are going to be very careful with any deals we do. Of course, we are careful with anything we invest in Europe, but we are being super careful about India. Some of our investors will like our deals, and some will be more sceptical.

India: The opportunity is there; when you see the likes of Blackstone, you tend to see others follow. Blackstone is so big that it creates the market.

What have you been through to get this project underway?

Europe: 2 years of talking about it and many plane flights to and from India. At the start of the process, about 15 months ago, I was working 50/50 across India and Europe; now I’m fully focused on India. A lot is going on, and a lot of advisors, brokers, etc, so you see a lot, but execution is nothing like Europe. There are lots of stakeholders, and everything takes a long time. In terms of internally at AnaCap the money we raised for our credit opportunities fund 4 can be deployed in India. Of course, we are not going to go and deploy 200m in India; the deals we have been looking at are real estate deals, and the majority have been less than 10 million.

India: It was a top-down call; we made promises in terms of exposures to our LPs. We don’t just provide exposure to India; we are providing exposure for our investors to all of Asia. For us, it depends on risk-reward flavours, Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, and Korea; they are all different. China is very competitive. If I had to pick one place to open up shop in Asia, I'd pick China. However, IRR on real estate in India is easily 15-20%.

What will be the measure of your success of India?

Europe: We are approaching this with caution. We are not going to deploy lots of money in India. If the deals go well, we may raise more money specifically for it or continue to deploy from the credit opportunities fund.

India: Frankly, the focus keeps changing depending on how each asset class is in its life cycle. I focused on Residential at first and a lot of debt deals. We tried to deploy debt as initial markets slowed down, and we moved to yielding assets like office. Office became expensive because people like CPPIB and Blackstone started buying office directly, so we moved to student housing, warehousing, affordable housing and hospitality, which has recently revived after a 7-year lull. I’ve even started looking at Funeral Homes. We like to go under the radar as long as we continue to do that, and stay ahead of the competition, we will continue to be successful.

Who is the competition?

Europe and India: Other than us, Oaktree, Varde, York, Silverpoint, Blackstone, CPPIB, GIC, KKR, Cerberus, Partners Group, LoneStart and there are quite a few local players.

Have they been successful?

Europe: It looks like the hedge funds have found it difficult. I think Liquid investors are struggling, whilst illiquid investors seem to do okay. We are illiquid investors, and we think there is an opportunity for us, but we need to be cautious.

India: The Developers in India are under a lot of distress; if you know a few of the bankers, it can be useful. If developers continue to be under distress, it will create a big NPL market, and investors will do well here. The bankruptcy laws aren’t as stringent as in Europe, but they have improved, and enforcement is easier. The lenders and developers are striving for alternatives.

What is the main difference between investing in India vs investing in Europe?

Europe: The legal environment, execution, the state of the country, laws, etc. I’m not there yet, but I expect a lot of differences. Most of the deals we have been looking at our under $10m in size, and they are direct asset purchases from struggling borrowers.

India: Being in a regional role, you don’t sit directly with the IC (Investment Committee), and you don’t really see them as often as if you sat in Europe or the US. In sourcing terms, it’s a pretty mixed bag; you’ve got the bulge brackets, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley, the advisors, CBRE and JLL, and a lot of boutique brokers. The network is massive, the advisors bring you into competitive processes, and you need relationships with all the shops and ideally direct relationships with the developers. I have 50 guys in my broker network. I try to stay on top of them, but a lot of the time, they are sending you something you rejected from the advisors a few months ago.

How will this affect capital raising?

Europe: We haven’t seen much change; we have the discretion over our current capital to be able to deploy it into India. We are not going to deploy more than 10% of the fund here. If things go well, we might raise a managed account from the investors who like our India deals. We will see.

India: Not much change, I think we will continue to deploy out of the one fund. I don’t see the need to raise a specific fund for Asia; after all, the point is to provide our current LPs with diversification.

What returns are you expecting?

Europe: Well into the double digits.

India: 15-20% IRR in India. If I were going to pick a location to set up in Asia, I’d pick China.

How would you describe the recruitment market?

Europe: The guys are very technical, but you don’t get the real salesman or originators. We are looking for people. Do you know anyone?

India: Is it easy to find people? Yes and No. It’s not difficult to find people who can build models. At the Senior level, the key is in funds-based offshore; we are a good example. its important to have people who understand local markets, at the same time, have the people who think the way you think. It's an important skill set to have. While you are looking at a deal in India, can you gauge the risk-reward versus other countries? You may struggle to find the talent. You are very likely to find local talent; Junior bankers are often on the wrong side of a senior colleague. However, financial services firms in India don’t have the best culture.

Thanks to both participants for their insights.