Raymond's multi-sector blueprint
Turning 100 is a milestone that few corporations reach, let alone with the vitality that now defines the Raymond Group. Founded in 1925 as a modest woollen mill on the outskirts of Bombay, Raymond has spent the past century weaving itself into the fabric of India’s industrial story.
Today, under the leadership of its Chairman and Managing Director, Gautam Hari Singhania, who took the helm in September 2000, the group stands as a global force in textiles, lifestyle, real estate, defence, and aerospace. Singhania focused on a bold restructuring by exiting the conglomerate’s non-core interests to double down on its strengths in textiles, engineering, and real estate. That tighter focus became the foundation of a value-creation philosophy that still drives the group. By spotting promising adjacencies, scaling them rapidly, and then spinning them off as independent, listed entities, the group has repeatedly unlocked shareholder value while empowering each business to chase its growth trajectory.
Unsurprisingly, revenues and profitability have climbed multifold over the past 25 years, and Raymond’s market capitalisation has rewarded investors. Thousands of employees now draw a livelihood from the group, while its social programmes cascade across communities where it operates and beyond.
Reinventing ‘Raymond’
For decades, the Raymond name has evoked nostalgia and an iconic image of fine suiting fabric. But Singhania saw that India’s burgeoning middle class was ready for ready-to-wear, convenience, and premium fashion labels. And so, he moved Raymond decisively up the value chain by introducing brands such as Park Avenue, ColorPlus, and Parx. Once they reached critical mass, they were demerged into Raymond Lifestyle, a standalone listed company that has continued to thrive on its own merit. It is India’s go-to name for branded apparel, suiting, shirting, and garmenting, among others.
Having achieved remarkable success in the lifestyle business, Singhania next turned to an arena few textile stalwarts had ventured into: Mumbai’s fiercely competitive real-estate market.
Capitalising on its brand value and crucial land assets, Raymond Realty launched in 2019 and, in a short duration, became one of the five largest developers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by FY 2024-25 revenue. The company has achieved remarkable success in a short period. Between FY20 and FY25, it achieved a 45 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in bookings, 55 per cent in collections, 67 per cent in revenue, and a staggering 101 per cent in operating profit (EBITDA). Even the pandemic failed to slow its momentum, with Raymond handing over homes up to 2 years ahead of RERA timelines, setting a new benchmark for execution.
With a gross development pipeline topping Rs40,000 crore, a strategically held land bank of more than 100 acres, and a net-cash balance sheet, Raymond Realty is targeting annual revenue expansion of 20 per cent and ROCE north of 20 per cent; a growth runway long enough to reshape India’s real estate sector. While textiles and real estate power ahead, Raymond is already aligning itself with India’s push for indigenous, high-technology manufacturing. The ongoing initiatives in Raymond’s aerospace, defence, and precision engineering are aimed at taking the group to the vanguard of sectors expected to boom over the coming decades. In the future, Raymond plans to have its engineering and defence business under two entities – one focused on precision products and the other on aerospace and defence.
Explaining the philosophy behind the demerger, Singhania says: “When you have three different businesses, one company, there is a very big conglomerate discount. By demerging them, there will be a significant upside in shareholder value creation because it will result in the creation of pure-play companies which will have best-in-class governance and management. Investors like pure-play companies.”
Demergers & value creation
Raymond’s playbook for value creation has rested on a simple premise: that when a business achieves enough scale and strategic clarity, it deserves to stand alone. The proposed demerger of Raymond Realty follows that logic and serves multiple strategic purposes. With FY 2024-25 revenue at Rs2,313 crore (up 45 per cent year-on-year) and profit before tax at Rs370 crore (up 47 per cent), the business already warrants a stock-market identity of its own.
Harmohan Sahni, CEO, Raymond Realty, says: “Since its start in 2019, the company’s mission has been to transform the aspirational, premium, and super-premium real estate landscape across MMR and Pune.”
“At the core of everything we do is an unwavering focus on delivering an exceptional customer experience. This commitment has enabled us to consistently raise the bar in project execution: often completing homes up to 2 years ahead of RERA timelines, and an extreme focus on quality. With flagship products like TenX, The Address by GS, and Invictus by GS, we are proud to be redefining product-led differentiation in what has traditionally been a commoditised industry,” explains Sahni.
“Between FY20 and FY25, we have achieved remarkable growth: a 45 per cent CAGR in bookings, 55 per cent CAGR in collections, 67 per cent CAGR in revenue, and an outstanding 101 per cent CAGR in EBITDA – all this with a ROCE of 26 per cent. Looking forward, with Rs40,000 crore GDV, we are well-positioned for sustained growth through existing owned land, and a capital-light JDA model. Our goal is to maintain 20 per cent plus annual growth and deliver a ROCE above 20 per cent. At Raymond Realty, we are not just building homes, we are shaping the future of urban living with quality, timely delivery, and a relentless focus on our customers,” he adds
Apart from simplifying the group structure further, demerging the real-estate arm will also create a dedicated, listed entity squarely focused on its core business, giving investors direct exposure to a sector that has enjoyed a sustained uptrend. At the same time, the new entity will continue leveraging Raymond’s century-old institutional strength and brand credibility. As the global experience shows, demergers help companies attract specialised investors who seek sector-specific exposure and have a long-term appetite. The simplified corporate set-up helps unlock fresh investor interest. With the creation of a separate listed entity, Raymond Realty will have a board and executive team with real-estate expertise to make faster, sector-specific decisions without competing for capital or bandwidth within the textile or engineering units. It will also allow Raymond Realty to attract specialised professionals while offering existing staff clearer career pathways aligned with real-estate ambitions.
Raymond Realty will also bank on a future pipeline built on joint-development agreements (JDAs), keeping the balance sheet light; management expects JDA projects to constitute half of annual pre-sales within 2 years.
One more factor separating Raymond Realty from its peers is its focus on staying anchored in the high-demand MMR and Pune corridors and serving aspirational, premium, and luxury buyers. It plans to pursue sustained 20 per cent annual growth with 20 per cent ROCE. Expansion will lean heavily on capital-light JDAs, while the 100-acre land bank provides ample runway for in-house projects.
Raymond Realty’s board also sets a high bar in terms of its composition compared to peers. Four of seven board members are independent directors, with only one promoter representative: an uncommon ratio in Indian real estate. The board’s pedigree signifies the importance of transparent, professional oversight and its central role in building a long-term franchise.
With Gautam Hari Singhania as the Chairman of the Board and Harmohan Sahni as Managing Director, there are others like Gautam Trivedi, Ashish Kapadia, Dipali Sheth, K Narsimha Murthy, and Bharat Khanna as directors.
Raymond Group’s aerospace and defence business has also achieved sizeable scale and is at an inflection point for further growth. Speaking on this, Gautam Maini, CEO of the engineering business at Raymond Ltd, highlighted how these businesses are poised to grow. “Aerospace & Defence are poised to shape the future of Indian industry. By strategically separating our precision products and aerospace/defence businesses, each can pursue its own growth trajectory and investment strategy. India is rapidly emerging as an engineering hub, especially within the China-plus-one strategy, and we are committed to leading this transformation. We are deepening our partnerships with global leaders such as Safran, Pratt & Whitney, and several others and accelerating investments in capability-building for the future of aerospace and defence manufacturing in India,” observes Maini.
“With the recent expansion of our Sinnar plant, Nashik, and growth plans for our Bengaluru plants, we have enhanced our production capacity and broadened our scope across automotive and industrial segments. This includes a strong focus on futuristic technologies such as hydrogen components and advanced areas such as EV and hybrid powertrain components. We are also foraying into high-value segments like surgical and jewellery files. By accelerating new product development, ramping up production, and deepening partnerships with global leaders, we anticipate robust growth, a stronger order pipeline, and a positive outlook for the coming quarters and the next financial year,” he adds.
India real estate sector
Few sectors mirror India’s twenty-first-century ambitions as clearly as real estate. As per the India Brand Equity Foundation, the nation’s property market could be between $5 trillion and $7 trillion in the future. As the broader economy expands at a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 per cent over the next 5 years, real estate’s share of gross domestic product is expected to double from 7 per cent to roughly 15 per cent by 2030.
Over the past decade, India’s per-capita income has been rising steadily. As disposable incomes rise, the first choice – especially for an urban Indian household – is to upgrade its primary residence or buy a second asset. This behaviour, inspired by the need for a tangible wealth store, converts income expansion almost directly into housing demand. The real-estate sector’s contribution to GDP is projected to climb, creating a powerful feedback loop of construction activity, job creation, and further consumption.
Changes in laws and regulations have also supported the real estate sector. The passage of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act and the GST regime have steadily professionalised the sector, boosting buyer confidence and formalising developers’ balance sheets. The recent Union Budget extended income-tax benefits for interest paid on affordable-housing loans. Parallel infrastructure spending in the form of multiple metro lines, the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link, the coastal road, Navi Mumbai airport, and similarly large-scale infrastructure projects in Pune – like the proposed ring road, new metro phases, and the Pune-Bengaluru expressway – will shrink commute times and open new micro-markets. Properties once ‘peripheral’ will eventually be within a reasonable radius of CBDs (in terms of commute time), widening the effective demand catchment.
India’s rich demographic dividend, derived from its young median age, means that a large part of its population is in the prime home-buying cohort of 25-54. At the same time, the country has a lot of scope for urbanisation. Mumbai and Pune, as Maharashtra’s economic magnets, will take a disproportionate share of this migration because they offer the highest density of finance, IT services, auto manufacturing, and emerging gig-economy jobs.
Recent macroeconomic tailwinds also indicate a rosy picture. The RBI has been tweaking interest rates to spur growth. Historical comparisons with China suggest that residential sales multiply 1.5 to 2.6 times the growth rate when per capita GDP climbs. Affordability metrics in India are moving in the right direction, with property-price-to-income ratios in tier-one cities having slipped to 3.3x – down from a ten-year average of 3.7 times – while the EMI-to-income burden has eased across the board.
Cushman & Wakefield estimates that built-up supply across India’s top eight urban centres will swell by 42 per cent between 2024 and 2030, driven mainly by demand for new homes and Grade-A commercial stock. Such numbers do more than polish macroeconomic dashboards; they also frame a once-in-a-generation opportunity for nimble, well-capitalised developers – especially those already entrenched in the hottest micro-markets.
Nowhere is that opportunity more vivid than in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), a megapolis that has long served as the bellwether for Indian property cycles. A confluence of macroeconomic strength, favourable demographics, decisive policy reforms, and visible on-ground traction is converting what was once cautious optimism into broad-based conviction.
“Primary-market sales across MMR now top Rs2 lakh crore annually, and May 2025 delivered the second-highest level of property registrations in 6 years. Several qualitative signals point to deep-seated momentum. The average ticket size of homes sold in 2025 has climbed to an unprecedented Rs1.59 crore, indicating a robust appetite for premium inventory. As a result, state-revenue collections from January to May reached a record Rs5,695 crore, 17 per cent higher than the same period the previous year; and the absolute number of registrations has also risen six per cent year-on-year to 64,461 units,” as per data compiled by Anarock. In short, India’s most supply-constrained housing market transacts at volumes and price points that would have seemed fanciful even a decade ago.
This trend is also visible in the Thane region, which has rapidly transformed into a preferred residential destination for Mumbaikars seeking quality housing, better infrastructure, and a superior lifestyle at a relatively affordable cost. The region has seen a real estate boom, driven by large-scale urban planning, improved connectivity, and integrated township development.
Strategically located, Thane enjoys excellent rail and road connectivity to key parts of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and even the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport. The Eastern Express Highway, Ghodbunder Road, and Thane’s proximity to Mumbai Metro Line 4 and the proposed Thane-Borivali tunnel have further improved accessibility, making daily commutes smoother for professionals. Thane also offers larger apartments and better amenities at a better price than central Mumbai. Leading developers have launched gated communities featuring landscaped gardens, schools, hospitals, shopping complexes, and recreational facilities, fostering a self-contained urban ecosystem. The city’s green cover offers residents a rare balance of urban life and natural serenity. With the rise in hybrid and remote working models, buyers place greater value on space and environment, further boosting Thane’s appeal.
A vibrant social infrastructure, growing employment opportunities in nearby business hubs, and sustained real estate investment continue to reinforce Thane’s emergence as a prime residential choice. As Mumbai’s housing demand spills over, Thane is poised to become the new urban heartland for aspiring homebuyers. A company with a large, well-located land bank in MMR and Pune is thus well-positioned to convert macro trends into shareholder value.
Rising ticket sizes mean identical floor areas can be monetised at higher absolute prices, protecting margins even if input costs drift upward. Second, falling unsold inventory shortens cash-conversion cycles, improving return on equity. Third, brand recognition commands a trust premium vital in significant-ticket transactions; as consolidation accelerates, Tier-2 developers exit and land parcels become available for joint ventures on attractive terms.
The next 5 years will thus witness a period of strength in India’s real estate sector – unless affected by a large-scale external or economic shock. The country will experience sustained economic expansion, youthful demographics, pro-growth policies, and record infrastructure capex, forming a strong foundation for the sector. Mumbai and Pune stand at the epicentre of this uptrend. For stakeholders in Raymond’s demerged real-estate business, this opportunity means they have invested in a company with faster sales velocity and, ultimately, superior value creation through exposure to India’s most important real estate markets.
Once demerged and listed, Raymond Realty will tick every box sought by today’s investors. It will have the correct scale, balance-sheet strength, brand credibility, and a sharply defined geographic franchise. Raymond Realty is positioned at the confluence of four reinforcing currents: a housing market racing towards a multi-trillion-dollar valuation (nationally); an MMR micro-market that is deepening, premiumising, and formalising all at once; monetary tailwinds that make home loans affordable just as incomes surge; and a suite of location and execution advantages impossible to replicate quickly.
Raymond’s land bank – about 100 acres – has a potential revenue value of Rs25,000 crore. Add negotiated joint-development agreements (JDAs) for six projects across Bandra, Mahim, Sion, and Wadala, together worth roughly Rs15,000 crore, and the company’s total potential gross development value swells past Rs40,000 crore. Because of JDAs, Raymond can scale rapidly while keeping its overall leverage low. This will be a structural advantage as interest-rate volatility returns to global capital markets.
As a location, Thane will be threaded by Metro Lines 4 and 5, the Thane–Borivali twin-tunnel road, and even the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor. These projects shrink commute times to Mumbai’s two main commercial nodes: Bandra-Kurla Complex and Nariman Point, effectively importing central-city pricing power to a district where integrated townships still have room to breathe.
Raymond Realty has a track record of finishing projects well before RERA deadlines, granting it top place in customer-trust surveys. Its first high-street retail venture, Park Avenue in Thane, pre-booked 65 units (0.08 million sq ft) in its first phase. Each success begets more optionality, with adjacent phases commanding higher prices as soon as a tower or retail block is delivered, lifting the internal rate of return without additional marketing spend. The company does not break ground on a project until every statutory clearance is in place. This has ensured that buyers are shielded from stalled-project anxiety.
Raymond Realty’s real estate ventures reflect the group’s commitment to creating thoughtfully designed urban ecosystems that blend convenience, comfort, and quality. Strategically located in prime areas with well-developed civic and social infrastructure, such as reputed schools, hospitals, corporate offices, malls, and excellent connectivity to the Eastern Express Highway and upcoming metro corridors, these projects are crafted to offer residents a superior lifestyle. Each residential project includes expansive landscaped spaces, gated communities, large clubhouses, modern amenities, and sustainable features, all aimed at elevating everyday living.
In a move that complements its core residential offerings, Raymond Realty has also ventured into premium retail through the launch of Park Avenue in Thane, a high-street retail project with ~0.08 million sq ft of RERA carpet area and 65 planned units in its first phase. This diversification signals the group’s intent to build holistic urban communities that blend living, leisure, and commerce seamlessly.
Towards a bright future
As the Raymond Group enters its centenary year, it stands as a testament to enduring trust, having evolved from a household name known for premium suits, shirts, and denim into a diversified conglomerate that now includes real estate. This transformation, rooted in consistent quality and credibility, has not only resonated with consumers but also reinforced shareholder confidence through value creation. According to Brand Finance (July 2024), Raymond’s brand value has risen 12 per cent year-on-year to $305 million, earning it a AAA- Brand Strength Index and a spot among India’s top 10 strongest brands.
The group today is a constellation of businesses, each empowered to shine, yet still connected by a shared DNA of innovation, execution, and stakeholder value. Whether weaving superfine fabric, dressing a new generation of professionals, crafting luxury residences, or engineering precision parts, Raymond continues to challenge assumptions about what a legacy company can achieve.
Investors are already taking note, treating the spin-off as a litmus test for how heritage brands can unlock trapped equity without diluting identity. A debt-free, professionally run Raymond Realty could fetch better valuations, giving the group fresh firepower to double down on its existing businesses. As Singhania prepares to list Raymond Realty as the group’s next independent engine of growth, one thing seems clear: the looms
in Thane may have grown quieter, but the Raymond story is just getting stronger.
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Market watch
Raymond’s demerger strategy and business transformation have not gone unnoticed. Market experts and equity analysts increasingly view the group’s structural changes as value-accretive, with its focused verticals emerging as independent engines of growth. Stock market analysts and brokerage firms are drawing parallels with successful demergers seen in companies like Reliance, ITC, and Tata Motors, positioning Raymond’s realignment as part of a broader shift towards focused, shareholder-centric corporate strategies.
Ambareesh Baliga, an independent stock market expert, highlighted the advantages of Raymond’s balanced business portfolio and the strength of its realty business. “The Raymond Group is undergoing a transformation of sorts, driven by strong leadership and a clear strategic vision focused on creating long-term value. The recent demergers have enabled the company to intensify its focus on three core, high-growth verticals – lifestyle, real estate, and engineering – each positioned for accelerated expansion. Raymond Realty commands a dominant 25 per cent market share in the Thane region and benefits from a land bank, driving robust momentum with anticipated growth exceeding 20 per cent,” he says.
“The engineering division is capitalising on fast-growing sectors such as aerospace, electric vehicles, defence, and auto components, delivering strong growth and diversification. At the same time, Raymond continues to reinforce its leadership in the textile and lifestyle segments, ensuring a balanced portfolio of legacy and sunrise sectors,” he adds.
Another independent market expert, Avinash Gorakshakar, pointed out that demergers no longer remain just financial transactions but are becoming transformative catalysts for long-term growth in India’s corporate landscape. “When companies operate across unrelated sectors, their stock price may not fully reflect the value of their individual business units, a phenomenon known as the ‘conglomerate curse’. By separating into focused entities, businesses become easier for investors to evaluate, unlocking value and leading to long-term value discovery. These restructuring moves streamline operations, sharpen management’s strategic focus, and drive better governance and profitability,” says Gorakshakar.
Brokerage houses are equally bullish on Raymond’s demerger strategy and the strength of its realty and engineering businesses.
Mumbai-based brokerage JM Financial said in its report that, with a 25 per cent market share in Thane, Raymond Realty is capitalising on strong demand in the Mumbai market, which is expected to persist for the next decade. “With Rs10,000 crore GDV launched from a planned GDV of Rs32,000 crore, the company is well-positioned for future growth. Its strategic focus on timely execution, customer-centric design, and financial discipline reinforces its competitive edge in the real estate sector,” the report states.
Nirmal Bang also expressed positive views on Raymond’s realty and engineering businesses. “Raymond Realty is targeting 20-25 per cent growth in booking value, driven by its capital-light Joint Development Agreement (JDA) business model. Additional JDA projects are under evaluation, signalling an intent to expand its portfolio while maintaining a prudent approach to capital allocation,” it states. “The engineering division is poised for growth in emerging sectors such as aerospace, auto, and EV components. However, challenges persist due to delays in orders from a major aircraft manufacturer, despite the promising outlook following the acquisition of MPPL,” it adds.
IIFL highlighted that Raymond Realty’s pre-sales CAGR since inception has been robust and expects at least 20 per cent CAGR to continue over the medium term. “Raymond looks to scale up on the back of its dominant market share in the Thane market and is incrementally looking to grow through the JDA model outside Thane (within MMR), with an IRR expectation of greater than 25 per cent. Management expects above 20 per cent revenue/PAT CAGR. A strong net-cash balance sheet and execution track record are key positives,” the report states.
According to Motilal Oswal (MOSL), the Raymond Group will have a pure-play real estate arm focused on monetising its legacy land parcel in Thane, along with expanding footprints in MMR and Pune. At Thane, the company has created various brands in each segment, such as aspirational (Ten X), premium (The Address by GS), and luxury (Invictus by GS), with all its projects positioned within these three brands. MMR is a $2 trillion opportunity; therefore, signing new projects worth Rs100 billion every year should not be a challenge.
MOSL’s view on ongoing projects and their contribution: the company achieved bookings of Rs2,200 crore in FY24, and while the aim is to double that over the next 3-4 years, the brokerage believes that timely launches of all non-Thane projects (expected by 1HFY26) can enable it to achieve the milestone a year ahead, in FY26. Over the medium term, the management is targeting 20 per cent pre-sales growth on a sustainable basis, along with 20 per cent EBITDA margin and 20 per cent ROCE.
On the engineering business, MOSL expressed confidence in the growth of Raymond’s aerospace segment, stating it will benefit from the China+1 wave. The brokerage said it values Raymond’s engineering business at 8x FY26E EV/EBITDA, arriving at a valuation of Rs2,200 crore.
JM Financial also noted the strategic land utilisation and high-demand projects: Raymond Realty has quickly established itself as a leading real estate developer in the Mumbai and Thane markets, leveraging its 100-acre land bank. Of the total, 40 acres are utilised for six projects, 30 acres are allocated for commercial developments, and 30 acres are earmarked for future projects. The company’s notable residential projects include Ten X Habitat (1 & 2 BHK), Ten X Era (2 & 3 BHK), The Address by GS (3 & 4 BHK), and the ultra-luxury Invictus (4.5 BHK). According to the brokerage, with a major part of the inventory in these projects already sold, Raymond Realty demonstrates strong demand for its offerings, supported by timely deliveries often ahead of RERA deadlines.
The JM report also highlights the potential for expansion beyond Thane. With a 25 per cent market share in Thane, the brokerage believes Raymond Realty is well-positioned to sustain its growth trajectory in the Mumbai market over the next decade.
Nirmal Bang commented on the revenue-generation potential through Raymond Realty’s land bank: the company’s 100-acre Thane property lot has the potential to generate Rs25,000 crore in revenue. Approximately 40 acres are under development, with five ongoing projects totalling 4 million sq ft and generating approximately Rs9,000 crore in revenue.
The remaining 60 acres, as per Nirmal Bang, have the potential for an additional 7 million sq ft, generating Rs16,000 crore in revenue. The brokerage also noted the company’s four JDA projects in Mahim and Sion, stating that cumulative revenue from these (including the Bandra project) exceeds Rs7,000 crore. Combined with the Thane land bank and JDAs, the company’s total income potential stands at Rs32,000 crore over the next few years, according to the report.
Nirmal Bang further observed that Raymond’s engineering division is well placed for growth in emerging sectors such as aerospace, auto, and EV components. Raymond Engineering’s presence across three verticals – Steel Files and Tools & Hardware, Auto and EV Components, and Aerospace & Defence – positions it to cater to a wide range of industries, reducing dependency on any single sector.
Lastly, ICICI Securities noted that Raymond continues to evaluate multiple projects across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. According to the brokerage, society redevelopment remains an attractive opportunity for developers. While competition is heating up in this space, ICICI Securities observed that Raymond will remain prudent and selective in bidding for any new project.
As per ICICI Securities, the Thane residential market will continue to attract both existing and new players launching projects in the coming years. However, with Raymond Realty having already set a pricing benchmark and a track record of delivering well ahead of RERA deadlines – coupled with a continuous pipeline of new and under-construction projects – competitors would have to either undercut or command a premium over Raymond’s product offering.
Infrastructure development across the MMR is expected to lead to steady price rises in suburban and extended suburban locations, while more mature markets such as South Mumbai may see prices stabilise as improved infrastructure reduces travel time to main office districts.