Nisus Finance Services (Nifco), a real estate investment firm, is in the process of raising approximately $200 million from investors in Singapore, the UK, and the Middle East. The inaugural special situations offshore fund has secured $40 million to date and anticipates the first close by March 2025. An offshore entity will act as a feeder or co-investor in the domestic fund and has commitments of around $40 million.
“This capital can be invested alongside the domestic pool, which is nearing final closure. We have an additional $160 million under discussion, with interest from HNIs, bank treasuries, and family offices for high-yield assets,” said Amit Goenka, managing director and CEO of Nisus Finance.
Nisus Finance Group manages two alternate investment funds: the Real Estate Credit Opportunities Fund-I (RECOF-I) and the Real Estate Special Opportunities Fund-1 (RESO-1), which together have a corpus of ₹1,200 crore.
While RECOF-I is jointly owned by Nisus and the Dalmia Group, RESO-1 has BCD Group as its sponsor and strategic partner. “We have a pipeline of stressed assets to be acquired in India. The offshore fund will co-invest alongside RESO-1 into residential assets stuck for last-mile funding, either as an FPI or as an investor in the India fund,” said Goenka. The firm expects to close the final fundraising round for RESO-1 by the end of the current fiscal year.
With a total corpus of ₹700 crore, the company has invested ₹450 crore so far across four deals from RESO-1, which is managed by Nisus BCD Advisors LLP.
In 2020, Nifco fully exited its first fund-the ₹450 crore Real Estate Asset Performance Fund-I (REAP-I). The firm also has a non-banking financial company (NBFC) called Nisus Fincorp Pvt. Ltd., which focuses on SME lending in real estate and non-real estate sectors. “We are also in the process of exiting the RECOF-I fund and aim to grow our SME lending book to ₹150 crore before the initial public offering,” he said.
As part of its plan to go public, Nisus Finance Services Co. Limited has submitted a DRHP. The NBFC aims to enhance its fund setup, acquire more licenses, and improve its fund management infrastructure in financial hubs like IFSC-Gift City, DIFC-Dubai, and FSC-Mauritius.
It also intends to cover placement fees and fundraising costs for both domestic and international markets, invest in its associate company, Nisus Fincorp Private Limited, raise additional capital, and meet other general corporate expenses.
