Founded in 1980 by Kishor Kumar Gokaldas, CMD, KG Builders is well known for its track record spanning more than four decades, with a clear understanding of Chennai’s evolving real estate market. Its selection of locations and projects across the city is designed to deliver long-term value for buyers. The company has completed over 188 projects across key locations in Chennai.
“The company was started by my father, Gokaldas. Initially, the family was involved in textiles and garments, but the move into real estate happened organically. It began with one project, then another, and gradually expanded from there. At that time, Chennai itself was transforming. Apartment culture was just beginning to emerge. Before that, the city was dominated by independent homes and bungalows. As the city evolved, builders started developing apartment projects, and over time, the scale of projects grew alongside the expansion of Chennai itself,” recalls Haresh Kishor, MD, KG Builders.
Employment generation is increasing significantly, creating an exponential effect not just on real estate but across the economy. Currently, KG Builders is doing around Rs400 crore in revenue and is looking to scale this up four to five times over the next 4 years. Along with this, they are expanding into Coimbatore and Bangalore while continuing to strengthen our presence in Chennai.
The core of the business is on-time delivery, quality construction, and delivering exactly what was promised. “In real estate, you are essentially selling a dream initially. When customers visit a project site, there may be nothing there except empty land. The buyer has to visualise the final outcome based on your plans, brochures, and promises. Customers trust you with their money upfront and stay invested in that journey for 2-3 years while the project is completed. Because of that, trust becomes the foundation of the business,” explains Kishor.
Changing face of Chennai
Many of the infrastructure projects announced over the last decade are now being completed simultaneously. The metro network is expanding, the Outer Ring Road has been completed, the Peripheral Ring Road is progressing well, new bus terminuses are opening, airport expansion projects are underway, and metro extensions are taking shape. All of this is coming together at the same time, creating a huge boost for the sector across the city.
KG Builders’ major business comes from Chennai and its surrounding areas. “We have done projects in places like Cochin earlier, but over the last few years our focus has been on Chennai, and the city still offers tremendous expansion opportunities. The city is poised for exponential growth. Currently, Chennai sells roughly 25,000 housing units annually. In comparison, cities like Bangalore and Pune are doing around 60,000-70,000 units per year. So, there is still a massive catch-up opportunity for Chennai,” explains Kishor.
Residential remains the biggest contributor and accounts for roughly 80 per cent of the business. “On the plotted-development side, we currently have over 100 acres under development with a Gross Development Value (GDV) of Rs670-700 crore in West Chennai. We recently launched KG Field of Fortune, a 20-acre plotted development, and KG Kingdom of Prosperity, a 10-acre plotted development. On the apartment side, we have around 1.5 million sq ft of residential space launching over the next year, with a total GDV of approximately R1,200 crore. On the commercial side, we have a 1.5 lakh sq ft office project in Guindy-Adambakkam and a 1.2 million sq ft mixed-use development in Medavakkam featuring office, retail, and hospitality components.
“Combined, these projects represent nearly Rs3,000 crore worth of development to be launched over the next 12-18 months. Our immediate target is to scale sales from around Rs400 crore to Rs650 crore and eventually to Rs1,600 crore over the next few years. India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and we have a large young population that is becoming increasingly educated and gainfully employed. Rising income levels naturally create housing demand,” concludes a confident Kishor.