International real estate advisor Savills has announced planned expansion of its Indian business into a full-service platform.

The expansion of Savills into India is the next strategic move for the business, after the successful acquisition of Cluttons Middle East, said a statement from the company.

The expanded Savills India business will be led by new CEO Anurag Mathur, and will initially operate from offices in New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai with a focus on delivering the very best real estate advice and services for its clients, it stated.

Mathur is an industry veteran, with over 24 years experience in the Indian real estate sector, most recently as the head of project and development services and emerging businesses for JLL in India, said the statement.

Before that Mathur spent 14 years at Cushman and Wakefield India where he was one of the founding members, holding various senior positions, the last being the managing director and country head.

Lauding the appointment, Savills Group CEO Jeremy Helsby, said: "I am delighted to welcome Mathur and his management team in their new role as leaders of a new and exciting Savills business in India. I wish them every success for the future."
 
Joining along with Mathur is Pankaj Sharma who has been appointed as the finance chief as well as the chief operations officer of Savills India. Sharma brings more than 20 years of experience in Finance and Operations in the Indian real estate industry.

He served previously with Cushman and Wakefield for 18 years in various roles in India and APAC, ultimately as CFO for India.

Steven Morgan, the chief executive of Savills Middle East (formerly CEO Cluttons Middle East) said: "India is a critical addition in the strategic expansion of Savills across the world. Following the acquisition of the Cluttons Middle East business earlier this year, the addition of India, is a logical next step."

"The Middle East and India are intrinsically linked, with over 2.5 million Indian nationals residing in the UAE alone. There is a great opportunity for the combined Savills business to extend our services to these expatriate populations, providing expert advice in the GCC and their home nation," he added.
 
The most recent Dubai Land Department statistics for the first nine months of 2018 show that Indians actually made more transactions in Dubai real estate than Emiratis, with 4,676 investments compared to 4,112 for UAE citizens.

Indians are the largest foreign investors into Dubai real estate with Dh8.6 billion of investment. In addition, over the past year, the GCC has committed more than $52billion in commercial investments into India.
 
Morgan said it will continue to invest in Savills India to broaden the business over the coming years.
 
Talking about the expansion, Christian Mancini, CEO, Savills Asia Pacific (ex-Greater China), said: “India is a strategic opportunity for Savills continued expansion in Asia. The country is a key growth engine of the global economy and has accelerated its significance with continued economic development and a highly talented workforce resulting in it being a preferred destination of global capital. Our aim is to offer a full suite of integrated services to Occupier, Investor and Developer clients in the key locations in India.”
 
On his new role, Mathur said: "This is a very exciting opportunity for me and I am proud to have the chance to build and lead an iconic brand as we develop the Savills business in India."-TradeArabia News Service