Specials

In an conversation with Mr. Mrinaal Mittal, Director, Black Teak reveals the development of Real Estate

It is a subsidiary company of the renowned Unity Group, which has been engaged in the real estate industry since 1996. Blackteak was founded a year ago as an asset-light company that operates in the real estate industry, offering advising services and purchasing properties under management contracts. Blackteak envisions itself as the one-stop shop for all real estate needs.
  1. Please provide us a brief overview of the business, its area of expertise, and the services it provides.

Unity Group is a real estate development organization that is engaged in development of residential, commercial and retail establishments. We are also actively involved in healthcare, education and trading. However, the core of the group lies in the business of real estate and our key area of operation in mainly Delhi NCR and Punjab. Our biggest project currently is The Amaryllis which is a luxury residential project situated on 40 acres of prime land in heart of Delhi at Karol Bagh.

Blackteak Group is a sister concern of the Unity Group and Blackteak on other hand is an off shoot that was started as an asset-light model company in real estate. This outfit essentially provides advisory services and also takes up worthy properties on a management contract basis.

 

  1. What goals and objectives guided the establishment of the company? Briefly describe your experiences since the company’s founding?

As mentioned earlier, Blackteak has been launched as an asset-light model company in the sector of real estate. It has a robust advisory arm and it also evaluates and acquires properties on a management contract basis. The ultimate goal of the company is to be a single stop solution for all requirements in real estate including real estate financing and development. The underlying principle is to make real estate a more inclusive industry that is open to new ideas and new technologies. Blackteak wants to be an optimum blend of modernity and traditional in terms of ideologies and practices.

 

3, Please offer your thoughts on the Housing Real Estate industry’s present and future.

The next 10 years are going to be the golden period for real estate and especially for housing. Be it luxury, premium or affordable, every segment of the offering is expected to do well. We are all witnessing an improvement in the situation currently and this is just the beginning. Consolidation in industry will continue to happen and probably even at higher pace. Micro market geography will continue to matter more than just the city or the kind of development. But in the latter half of the next 10 years that difference will be based more on the quality of development or even city due to better infrastructure and transportation. Not to discount the tech adaptation that will allow work from home type of alternatives.

 

  1. What are some of the current issues facing the sector?

Owing to its traditionalist methods of working I see lack of skilled labour as a deterrent in the overall advancement of this industry. Furthermore, there is the issue of dearth of technology; this industry continues to be tech wary till date and hence there is very little adaptation of technology. Regulatory hurdles are yet another factor that continues to create impediments leading to much longer development time lines. Another critical issue is a lack of trust from the public at large for this industry, for the reason that many stake holders have defaulted causing losses to buyers. Lastly, dogging this sector is the lack of cheap and good location land for affordable housing. Currently what is available is either cheap or in good locations but not both, making projects unviable.

 

5. What future market-related plans do you have?

As I mentioned earlier, Blackteak evaluates and acquires projects on management contract basis. While the ongoing phases of some projects are near completion, other projects are wholly getting completed. We are in the process of scouting for worthwhile projects and analyzing them. We will be launching 8-10 projects in the next 4 quarters in a phased and systematic manner. While the market is receptive to this business vertical of ours and we are getting offers to partner on almost a daily basis, we are being fastidious in our selection of projects.

 

6. What expansion ambitions do you have for the upcoming year?

Blackteak as an integral part of the Unity Group is engaged in large scale projects with the latter. Individually Blackteak is a budding organization and is firmly committed to changing perspectives on the real estate sector. Expansion will come into play for Blackteak a year down the line when our current verticals have established the strong foundation that we have envisaged for ourselves. Till then Blackteak is committed to focus on project management, advisory and building in more of tech in every aspect alongside the Unity Group and on its own.

 

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