Real State Developer Mangal Prabhat Lodha Success Story

Mangal Prabhat Lodha is one of the most well known real estate developers. He is also one of the most highly-respected Politicians, India has ever seen. This highly honored politician and founder of Lodha Group was born on the 18^th of December 1955

Mangal Ji realized that to establish a successful business empire, he needed to maintain a good distance from the media and focus only on the middle class of Mumbai. And soon enough, he expanded his base to Hyderabad and Pune apart from the existing one in Mumbai.

In 2003, when he realized that his sons, Abhishek & Abhinandan were old enough to help him in his business, he involved them and handed them the position of Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of the group. But he still kept the final say to himself and held the position of the Chairman of the group.

But the major success of the group was yet to come. In the year 2008, the group saw its biggest jump. In spite of being just an Rs. 266 Cr (USD 2.66 billion) company, the Lodha group finally received one of the most whopping funding of their lives. This funding amounted to Rs.1, 700 Crore, and came from a group of investors who were led by the Deutsche Bank. For the Indian Real Estate, this funding came across as the largest known FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) deals.

The creditability of the group increased manifold and it gained immense respect amongst the investors as well as the masses. The group has now finally been able to build a strong team of investors which includes loads of private equity funds and big bankers like JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HDFC Ventures, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India, etc.

In 2010, the company made headlines for acquiring a 25,000 square meters plot in Wadala for a whooping price of Rs. 4,050 Crore. The company bagged this plot in an auction conducted by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). This was Mumbai’s costliest land deal in 2010 and the Lodha group has been able to get it.

And soon after this, in just a period of two years, the group again took the new channels by storm by again buying a 17-acre mill in Worli from DLF for Rs. 2,700 Crore this was a stupendous sum and this created enough headlines!

The Lodha Group which started off with the dreams of a lawyer in Jodhpur has now turned to be a company that owns more than 181 million square feet of land just by bagging every opportunity that presented itself and by religiously following a path which was less trod. Under the roof of Mangal Jim's expertise and sharp vision, this group has currently undertaken over 30 projects on over 35 million square feet of land, in and around Mumbai. The group now has over 3800 associates and employs over 25,000 site-based workers.

Clearly, the group has now succeeded in becoming the biggest real estate developer in the country and by keeping into account the exponential growth in their stats; it just seems a matter of 5 to10 years when this prestigious Lodha Group would create a niche for itself in the world market.

Acquisitions and investments

Mangal Ji's sons were very aggressive and they had made up their mind to expand internationally!

• In 2013, they bought the famous ‘McDonald House’ at the heart of Mayfair, London for more than Rs. 3,000 Crores ($500 Million).

This property has marked its entrance into the London markets and has also brought them into the big league of Indian real estate giants. They are now standing in comparison to the top three builders in the country, that are, Hiranandani’s, DLF, and Raheja’s. With this property, they can now look forward to building a strong base in London similar to the one they hold in Mumbai and to convert the city’s commercial properties into luxury residential apartments.

This property can be considered as one of the most important investments of the group. Central London is one of the most attractive markets for foreign investors from West Asia, Russian, and China so this property is an amazing buy. By selling properties in London the Lodha Group can certainly dream of earning a huge amount of profits.

• Recently, in 2014; the Lodha Group has partnered with globally renowned designers, architects and consultants like Giorgio Armani, Quintessentially, Kapadia Associates Ltd, Ken Smith, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA), Leslie E. Robertson Associates (LERA), etc to build their most ambitious project named “The World Towers” in the heart of Mumbai.

With this project they aspire to build a building name World One, which would be the world’s tallest residential tower with 117 floors, and World Crest. The apartments in these skyscrapers would cost a person somewhere between Rs7.5 Crores to Rs. 50 Crores.

Other Achievements

Mangal Prabhat Lodha has begun taking a keen interest in Indian Politics. Since 1995, he has played an important part in it and is a six-time winner. Since he first stood in the election, he has won all the elections from his Malabar Hill Constituency.

He has a real-time net worth of more than $2.9 Billion and is counted as one of the richest men in politics. Mangal Ji is a legislator, and with this position, he has brought about some magnificent developments in his home-ground. Some of his major political contributions include: –

• Introduction of the RTI bill in the Vidhan Sabha
• Even after firm opposition, he has undertaken a smooth transition of the bill
• Key role in the ratification of the Right to Information Act (RTI)
• Formation of the Animal Welfare Board in Maharashtra
• The proposition of law against cow slaughter in the state
• Creation of separate law/regulations in support of the construction and development of over 50,000 housing societies
• An important link between the business communities and the government, to implement a number of policies

Other than that; he also runs a charitable trust under the name of the ‘Lodha Foundation’, through this trust he has taken numerous initiatives for the lesser privileged of the society and has done loads of work to benefit them with education, healthcare, sports and culture he has also done various work to provide thousands of people with the facilities such as medical treatment, vocational training, etc.

Awards and Recognitions

In his illustrious career, Mangal Prabhat Lodha has been awarded innumerable laurels and recognitions. He has managed to earn special respect among the masses. Some of the most notable awards and recognitions that he received include:

• Won the ‘Global Leadership in Real Estate’ Award at the NDTV Property Awards (2014)
• Awarded the ‘National Safety Council Award’ (2014)
• Won the ‘India’s Most Admired Builders’ Award at the 9th CWAB Awards (2014)
• Named as ‘India’s Most Trusted Brand’ in the Real Estate Developer category by The Brand Trust Report, India Study (2014)
• Won the CNBC Awaaz Real Estate Award (2013)
• Won the Emerging Business of the Year Award by HELLO! Magazine (2013)
• Named as the ‘Most preferred real estate brand in Mumbai’ by Morgan Stanley Research (2012)
• Won the ‘Leaders of Indian Infrastructure & Construction’ Award by Economic Times ACETECH (2009)