Godrej launches financial services arm Godrej Capital

Godrej Industries Ltd on Monday announced the launch of its financial services subsidiary Godrej Capital, which will also be the holding entity for Godrej Housing Finance and Godrej Finance.

The 125-year-old conglomerate has committed to invest ₹1,500 crore into its financial services venture and expects the business to require a total of ₹5,000 crore of equity investment by 2026.

Godrej Industries aims to build a retail financial services business with a balance sheet of ₹30,000 crore by 2026, according to an exchange filing.

The company will expand its retail operations in six new cities this financial year in addition to diversifying customer segments and launching new business lines, the filing said.

Godrej Capital currently has its footprint across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad, and Pune. It will soon be operational in six new cities such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Chennai, Indore and Surat.

“Godrej Capital will form a key pillar in the overall growth of the Godrej Group. We started with home loans in select geographies in 2020. Having seen strong customer acceptance of our offering, we are very optimistic about the prospects of our financial services venture and will be entering new markets and enhancing our reach across key target sectors and consumer segments,” said Pirojsha Godrej, chairman, Godrej Capital.

The company said it will continue maintaining focus on the growth of secured loans consisting of home loans and loans against property. To fulfil business and geographic aspirations, the business aims to grow its team by 50% to approximately 500 people in this financial year.

“We have successfully implemented a digital-first approach at Godrej Housing Finance through innovative products such as Design Your EMI and end-to-end contactless solutions delivered digitally. This has inspired us to grow our footprint and to broaden our service offerings to different customer segments through affordable housing loans and unsecured loans. We envision Godrej Capital becoming a newage, leading retail financial services institution in the years ahead,” said Manish Shah, managing director and CEO, Godrej Capital.

For scalable operations, Godrej Capital said it is investing in building capabilities through talent, technology and analytics that will power business growth.