Welspun One raises Rs 2,275 crore funding to build warehousing assets

Welspun One, an integrated fund and development management platform, has closed its second fund, raising a total of Rs 2,275 crore. This includes co-investment commitments, making it the largest domestic fundraise in this sector.

The capital was sourced from a diverse pool of about 800 investors, which includes high-net-worth individuals, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices, corporates, and domestic institutions.

Developing new-age warehousing properties

The raised capital will be used to develop new-age warehousing properties. Welspun One's focus for the second fund includes urban distribution centres, cold chain facilities, agro logistics, and port and airport-based logistics.

The company has already committed nearly 40% of its investible capital across four investments.

It expects to deploy the remaining capital over the next three to four quarters, which will add 8 million square feet to its existing 10 million square feet portfolio, bringing the total to approximately 18 million square feet. The expansion entails a total project outlay of around $1 billion.

Leadership comments

Balkrishan Goenka, Chairman of Welspun World, said, "Our commitment to advancing critical logistics infrastructure is in perfect alignment with India's strategic objective of reducing logistics costs from 14% to 8%, thereby enhancing the global competitiveness of our industries." He emphasized that by investing in essential infrastructure, the fund aims to streamline logistics operations and stimulate industrial growth.

Anshul Singhal, Managing Director of Welspun One, said, "Embarking on the exploration of new-age warehousing assets represents an exciting journey for us at Welspun One. Our progress has been remarkable, having successfully established a well-capitalized platform poised to achieve an AUM of over USD 1 billion."

Welspun One had raised Rs 500 crore in its first fund, which is fully committed across six investments.

This first fund covers a development potential of 7.2 million square feet over 300 acres in five cities.

Currently, about 50% of this is delivered, with the remaining expected to be completed in the next four to six quarters. The portfolio from the first fund includes notable clients such as Tata Croma, Delhivery, FM Logistics, Asian Paints, and Ecom Express.

Welspun One is the warehousing platform of the $5 billion global conglomerate Welspun World. The company aims to reduce logistics costs significantly and improve the global competitiveness of Indian industries.

It plans to continue building on its current foundation, diversifying its investor base, and meeting future growth requirements by augmenting retail investor participation with institutional capital.