NCW Asset Management, a joint venture between Nuvama and Cushman & Wakefield, has closed its Prime Offices Fund at ₹4,000 crore. The platform plans to scale its commercial real estate portfolio to ₹10,000 crore and explore a future REIT listing. The fund currently offers investors a quarterly yield of 6-7% through investments in Grade-A office spaces.
NCW Asset Management, a 50:50 joint venture between Nuvama Asset Management and property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, has successfully closed its Prime Offices Fund at ₹4,000 crore. The firm is now working toward expanding its commercial real estate holdings to a gross asset value of ₹10,000 crore. As these assets mature, the company is considering a transition to a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to provide liquidity and exit options for its investors.
Current Portfolio and Deployment Strategy
The fund focuses on Grade-A commercial office properties located in major Indian cities. Currently, about 45 percent of the raised capital has been deployed. Notable acquisitions include a 2.4 million square-foot office complex in Chennai, previously held by Singapore-based Keppel, along with commercial assets in Delhi’s Saket area and a majority stake in a Pune development. Gaurav Puri, Chief Investment Officer at NCW Asset Management, noted that the remaining capital is expected to be put to work over the next four to six quarters.
The Path Toward REIT Listing
A REIT allows investors to pool money into income-generating real estate. While NCW Asset Management is exploring this path, the firm is currently managing its platform to offer quarterly yields of 6-7 percent, mirroring the distribution model often seen in REITs. The management team highlighted that the expansion of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India continues to drive demand for quality office space, which supports rental growth and provides multiple potential exit routes for the fund’s assets.
However, the firm noted that a formal REIT listing requires careful balancing. A traditional REIT structure can sometimes limit the flexibility to curate specific assets, and the current platform does not intend to reach the massive 30-40 million square-foot portfolio size typically associated with the largest public REITs in India. Alternative exit routes, such as private market sales or Small and Medium (SM) REIT structures, remain on the table.
Future Outlook and Market Context
The Indian commercial real estate sector has seen significant interest from institutional investors and fund houses looking for stable, yield-generating assets. For investors, the key monitorable will be the company’s ability to deploy the remaining capital efficiently and manage the occupancy rates of its current office portfolio. Future funds from the platform are expected to be opportunistic, launching only when specific, high-quality investment opportunities are identified. Investors may track the platform's progress on asset maturity, rental performance of the existing properties, and any official announcements regarding a potential shift to a REIT or other exit mechanisms in the coming years.