Pune-based VTP Realty is a leading real-estate company, specialising in both commercial and residential large-scale developments. With customer-centricity as a core value, the business has seen exponential growth with over Rs 40 billion in sales revenue last year. In a conversation with SNEHA IYER, Sachin Bhandari, Executive Director &CEO, elaborates on VTP Realty’s journey and future plans. Please take us through the history of VTP Realty. VTP Realty is part of the VTP Group, established in 1985 by Mr Vilaskumar Thanmal Palresha. The company started as a construction material supplier, making a name for itself as the second-largest supplier of cement in Maharashtra and the largest in Pune. Another arm of the company contracts for other developers and government agencies. VTP Realty started in 2008 as the sole real-estate arm after Mr Palresha’s sons joined the company and started expanding the land banks. I joined the company in 2015 and it has been a fruitful partnership since then. When I joined, it was a promoter-run company and we have worked towards creating an organised corporate structure. We have evolved to being a people-driven, process-driven business with various department functions with the right people. The company has seen tremendous growth from Rs 90 crore in 2015 to over Rs 4,000 crore. What have been the contributing factors to this success? When I joined, the vision was to be one of the top three players in Pune. We also made a major shift towards catering to end-user families with end-to-end real-estate development. We developed a three-tier philosophy of ‘Better Design, Better Build and Better Care’. The idea was to keep the customer at the centre of our product design and all interactions. The customer pays for every square foot. And the design of every home can still vary, which is why we believe that a liveable area is a better term than carpet area. We also started offering long-term amenities as homes are a lifelong investment. The homes are also designed in a way that they stay relevant throughout the years. Better build means quality takes precedence over everything else. The company uses tunnel-form technology. The focus on the finish is tremendous and third-party quality checks are conducted before handing over the apartments. Buying a home involves a lot of emotions. So, we have introduced V-Careto provide better services to homeowners. Through this portal, they can check the construction progress of their homes, raise queries and view payment schedules, receipts of payments and more. We have done away with transfer fees in case of reselling and our team also helps in the leasing processes of the homeowners. We have been customer-centric even before it was necessitated by the RERA framework. These policies and our commitment-driven working style have turned the market in our favour. We have been maintaining our leadership in the Pune market for the past five years consecutively. What is the emphasis placed on the use of innovative technology and how does it set the company apart? Technology has permeated across all aspects, from construction and backend work to marketing. We have been one of the few developers to use Turkish tunnel-form technology that makes one floor in a day or two. Unfortunately, due to the lack of skilled manpower, we had to pause the usage of this technology. Now, we use Alu-form across projects. Newer technologies are always under evaluation to be adopted in the future. We are always looking out for newer materials and technologies. Recently, we are exploring the possibilities of using an invisible window that offers the required protection, yet doesn’t affect the elevation aesthetics. As glass facades are a major part of our towers, we are using a technology that allows faster construction, efficiency, productivity and better turnaround. To maintain safety, we use laminated sandwich toughened glass, which is one of the toughest available in the Indian market. How does the company prioritise sustainability and environmental responsibility? Environment clearances are now mandatory. So apart from the mandated steps, we make use of DGU and tinted glass for energy conservation. As an amenity, we provide some workstations in our projects that run on solar power. We aim to provide the best sustainable amenities wherever possible. Can you discuss the company's involvement in other industries, such as VTP Materials, and how it contributes to VTP Realty's overall success? As a group, these are different verticals. A few years ago, VTP Realty was just starting out while VTP Materials was the leader in its sector. But now it is the other way around due to the exponential growth. VTP Materials provided the much-needed knowledge, experience and industry connect that have worked as a springboard for the real-estate development arm. Second, VTP Realty leverages better materials at lower costs owing to the backward integration. Tell us about your vision for the future. We want to continue our winning streak in the Pune market. We have established ourselves as a product company with the mindset of a service industry. Our focus is on consistently delivering high quality and on-time completion, thus building customer trust. What is your take on the real estate market currently? With the Government’s push for infrastructure, what type of future growth do you see? Until the pandemic, I believe the industry was a little stagnant. But the pandemic has proven to be a blessing in disguise with the amount of growth being clocked by the industry. It’s one of those rare times where every real-estate player has seen growth. Customers have been increasingly demanding larger homes. Millennials have become a new market to tap. While consumers are taking time to zero in on the perfect project that meets all their needs, the growth trajectory is quite solid. Homes have now gone from just fourwalls to a holistic lifestyle choice for the entire family. So, providing good lifestyle amenities within a project has become imperative. I see the trend continuing next year too. The only dark cloud has been the increasing inflation, due to which interest rates have gone up, and there have been job security concerns in the IT sector. How do you see the adoption of construction technology changing the game? Real estate has evolved to a large extent over the last decade. There is a significant shift from a developer-oriented industry to one that is customer-centric and buyer-oriented. With digital technology and RERA coming into play, delivering on time is crucial for success. While some players have adopted the advancements willingly, some have had no choice but to pull up their socks. What are your suggestions to bridge the skilled labour gap in the market? We believe this can intensify further. Skilled labour aside, labour shortage has been a painpoint in the industry for a long time. There is hesitancy to enter this field of work. To upskill labour, the Government has to take up many initiatives to train them. NGOs play an important role here. Even at an organisational level, taking up internal training exercises is a good way to start. Can you discuss VTP Realty's prospects and plans for the future? Last year, we did a sales turnover of Rs 40 billion and this year we are looking at Rs 60-70 billion. We have two major township developments in Mahalunge (Bengaluru-Mumbai Highway), which is in Pune West, and the other in Kharadi (Ahmednagar Highway) in East Pune. Both these are largely IT hubs with manufacturing hubs close by. We are soon launching a new 150-acre township on the Khadakwasla hilltop, comprising premium villas and plots. We have moved from a mid-segment brand to an aspirational brand. We have further segregated it into two productbrands. VTP Homes will cater to the premium segment offering maximum amenities at a price commensurate with market rates and VTP Luxe will offer luxury apartments with more lavishly appointed amenities. We will continue to focus on the Pune market for the next two years at least. Once we reach a milestone here, a logical extension would be to expand to Mumbai. Beyond that, we are looking to extend our reach to other markets as well. Fact file Year of establishment: 2008 Areas of operation: Real estate – Townships, Residential, Commercial Top management:Sachin Bhandari, Executive Director & CEO; Bhushan Palresha, Managing Director; Nilesh Palresha, Joint Managing Director No. of employees: 900 Ongoing projects: 8 Upcoming projects: A 150-acre township on the Khadakwasla hilltop; new developments in Wagholi and Mahalunge