Prime Securities Ltd has entered the alternative investment fund business through group company Prime Litmus Investment Management Ltd, marking a new line of business after three decades in investment banking and financial services. According to reports from The Economic Times, the fund has launched the Prime Litmus Real Estate Opportunities Fund, a Category II AIF focused on structured credit investments in under-construction real estate projects, primarily residential developments. The fund is targeting a corpus of ₹750 crore, with a greenshoe option of ₹250 crore, bringing the total potential corpus to ₹1,000 crore. As a listed Sebi-registered Merchant Banker, Prime Securities announced the launch on Thursday, marking an important milestone in the company's expansion into AIF management.
The fund will evaluate transactions across major Indian cities including the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR), Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. As reported by The Economic Times, the fund has a tenure of six years, extendable by one year, and is targeting an annual internal rate of return (IRR) of 18-20%. The fund will be raised over six months and deployed over two years, with plans to undertake 12-15 transactions with deal sizes ranging from ₹50 crore to ₹150 crore. The strategy focuses on self-liquidating real estate projects with strong cash-flow visibility and robust security structures, partnering with established developers and targeting proven real estate markets with demonstrated depth and demand.
Prime Litmus Investment Management is a joint venture between Prime Research and Advisory Ltd, a subsidiary of Prime Securities, and Litmus Global Services LLP, a real estate-focused investment advisory firm. According to The Economic Times, the investment committee comprises industry veterans across real estate investing, investment banking and asset management, with the leadership team including Rahul Rai - Managing Partner, Prime Litmus, Akshay Gupta - Director, Prime Securities, and Apoorv Kumar - Managing Partner, Litmus. The fund aims to build a scalable, governance-led alternatives platform to address India's real estate growth opportunities.
Prime Securities' expansion into AIF management comes at a time when the real estate sector is witnessing consolidation, formalization and increasing institutional participation. As reported by The Economic Times, Akshay Gupta, Director of Prime Securities, noted that India's real estate sector is undergoing structural transformation led by consolidation, formalization and increasing institutional participation. The current market environment presents a compelling investment proposition for structured credit strategies, with conventional funding avenues tightening for real estate developers, accelerating demand for institutional structured capital.
The launch comes amid broader expansion of private credit activity in real estate, with ASK Property Fund part of the Blackstone-backed ASK Asset & Wealth Management group launching its largest real estate debt vehicle, targeting a corpus of ₹3,500 crore. According to The Economic Times, earlier this week, investment firm Arnya Realestates Fund Advisors said it would launch its second debt fund this year, targeting ₹1,000 crore. The growing demand for private credit reflects healthy project pipelines and increasing institutional participation in the real estate sector. Prime Litmus platform will focus on institutional-grade governance and risk oversight, supported by established ecosystem partners including ICICI Bank Ltd as custodian and fund accountant, Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP as auditor, and MITCON Credentia Trusteeship Services Ltd as trustee.
