NDR Warehousing Pvt Ltd will be participating in the auction of silo warehouses by Food Corporation of India, as the company seeks to add to its portfolio to become a leading logistics and storage player in the sector.

FCI has invited tenders for silo warehouses at 66 locations across eight states with a total storage capacity of 30.75 lakh tons, and a total worth of ₹1000 crore.

NDR Warehousing, which currently manages a warehousing portfolio of 17 million square feet (msf) across 12 cities, is adding another seven million square feet of leasable area over the next two years with a total investment of ₹2000 crore. It is looking at an acquisition in Hyderabad, new land in Kolkata as well as a property in Gurgaon, managing director Amrutesh Reddy said. The aim is to add 15 msf in the next four years.

All the warehouses will eventually make their way into the NDR InvIT Trust, the infrastructure investment trust that will be privately listed. The draft placement document has already been filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and approval is expected shortly, Reddy said.

The total size of the InvIT offering is ₹1165.5 crore of which ₹843.2 crore will be raised by it through a fresh issue of units, while the remainder will be an offer for sale by the existing shareholders. Since it is a sale to institutional investors, the minimum bid size is ₹25 crore. A public listing of the InvIT is also on the cards a couple of years later, Reddy added.

The InvIT’s portfolio will consist of 20 special-purpose vehicles comprising 33 warehousing assets spread across 12 key markets – Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Coimbatore, Sricity, Bilaspur, Goa, and Puducherry. Over 12 msf of this is completed and around 3.3 msf under construction.

Bahrain-based private equity investor Investcorp is a major investor in the InvIT and has already pumped in ₹900 crore into it in two tranches and holds around 17 per cent stake. It will be selling a minuscule stake in the OFS.

CEO Krishnan Iyer said that a number of major global PE investors had shown interest in investing in the InvIT and talks are on with them to bring them on board.

The average monthly lease rentals for NDR’s warehouses are currently in the region of ₹17 per square feet. Reddy said that he expected the rates to move up 25 per cent by the end of next year.

India’s total warehousing supply is expected to cross 500 msf by 2026, JLL India said in a recent report on the sector. The current stock is at around 344 msf and th demand is being fuelled by third-party logistics firms, whose share is now at a dominant 43 per cent in leasing compared to 35 per cent year ago.