Nexus Select Trust Takes First Step Towards Scaling Presence in East and Northeast India

Nexus Select Trust, India’s first listed retail REIT and the country’s largest owner of Grade-A urban consumption centres, announced its strategic entry into Northeast India through a landmark transaction for the development of a Grade-A Mall and Hotel in Beharbari, Guwahati.

Transaction Overview
- Entry into Northeast India: Nexus Select Trust acquires Galaxy Complex in Beharbari, Guwahati.
- Deal size: INR 1,600 crores for 100% stake.
- Assets:
- Nexus Galaxy Mall (0.5M sq ft, Grade-A retail).
- Hyatt Regency Hotel (164 keys).
- Structure: Seller develops to agreed specs; Nexus assumes operations post-completion and approvals.

Strategic Significance
- First under-construction deal in Northeast India; second since REIT listing.
- Foothold in Guwahati: City serves as gateway to Northeast, catchment of 50M+ people.
- Market gap: Guwahati has no Grade-A malls planned, despite affluent demographics (population ~2M, per capita income $7,000).
- Pipeline: Nexus aims to scale across East India hubs—Kolkata, Siliguri, Patna, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Jamshedpur.

Financial Highlights
- Mall acquisition cap rate: 8.25–8.50%.
- Hotel EBITDA multiple: 11.5–12.5x.
- Funding mix: ~40% debt, balance via unit issuance/swap.
- Accretive impact: NAV and DPU accretive post-acquisition.
- Balance sheet: Post-deal Loan-to-Value ~20%, leaving ~$1B headroom for future growth.

Leadership Commentary
- Dalip Sehgal (CEO, Nexus): Calls Guwahati a “natural gateway” and highlights ambition to build a dominant East India portfolio generating INR 600+ crore NOI (25% of total).
- Gautam Vaswani (CAO, Nexus): Stresses de-risked entry, NAV/DPU accretion, and preserved debt capacity.
- Galaxy Infra Promoters: Position Galaxy Complex as a landmark mixed-use development, combining retail, hospitality, commercial, and residential.

Big Picture
This move signals Nexus Select Trust’s strategic evolution—from acquiring stabilized malls to selectively pursuing de-risked development opportunities in high-potential consumption corridors. Guwahati is both a first-mover advantage and a springboard for scaling across East & Northeast India.