Guwahati: Nexus Select Trust (NSE: NXST | BSE: 543913), India’s first listed retail REIT and the country’s largest owner of Grade-A urban consumption centres, today announced its strategic entry into Northeast India through a landmark transaction for the development of a Grade-A Mall and Hotel in Beharbari, Guwahati. The transaction marks the first step in Nexus’ broader strategy to build a presence across the high-potential consumption markets of East and Northeast India, with Guwahati providing an attractive entry point into the region. Guwahati serves the entire Northeast region with a population of over 50 million.
Nexus will be acquiring 100% stake at a purchase consideration of INR 1,600 crores in the upcoming Galaxy Complex, comprising the 0.5M sf Nexus Galaxy Mall and 164-keys Hyatt Regency Hotel. These assets will be developed by the seller to mutually agreed specifications. Nexus will assume operational responsibility upon completion of construction and receipt of necessary approvals.
This transaction marks Nexus Select Trust’s first under-construction development transaction in Northeast India and second such transaction since listing. It also represents a strategic evolution of the platform, from a decade of disciplined portfolio expansion, scaling from two malls to 19 best-in-class assets across India, towards selectively pursuing structurally de-risked development opportunities in high-potential consumption markets aligned with India’s long-term consumption growth.
Strategic Significance: Establishing a Northeast India Foothold
Guwahati is emerging as a leading retail and consumption hub in Northeast India, supported by rising household incomes, increasing urbanisation and a growing appetite for organised retail and premium brands. As the region’s largest commercial centre and a key gateway to the eight Northeastern states, the city serves a catchment extending well beyond its immediate population.
The proposed asset is located within a dense and affluent catchment of Guwahati and provides Nexus an entry into the underpenetrated organized retail market of Northeast India., Guwahati remains significantly under-supplied in Grade-A retail, with no planned Grade-A mall developments in the city. With a population of over 2 million and per capita income of $7,000, Guwahati accounts for ~45% of Assam’s Gross State Domestic Product.