May 23: Agrocorp which has reimagined the experience of buying and selling land. They believe that land ownership is a fundamental right for all, not just a few.
What started as a pursuit to acquire land for self-use became a huge opportunity when Ayan Nagpal, Founder and Director of Agrocorp, realised that the land investment sector in India is still unorganised and in the hands of a select few. And with this vision, Agrocorp was conceived in 2012 with the intention of simplifying and organising the concept of land investment while creating value that not only simplifies the process of land investment but makes the whole concept effortless and more desirable.
We went all candid with Ayan Nagpal and let’s read what he has to say about Agrocorp and vineyards.
1) How and when did this idea of launching a vineyard come to your mind?
As a leading land developer, our team is continuously identifying potential growth zones in the country and innovating on value addition that we can do on land by creating new experiences for our clients.
While travelling to the US, we visited Napa Valley and had a great experience with the family. The experience of a vineyard is on every traveller’s bucket list and we are excited to bring that experience to your backyard with our project “The Vineyard”, where an investor adds to their portfolio by investing in land in a high potential growth zone and at the same time makes this experience a part of their lifestyle.
Bengaluru is the wine country of Karnataka with the right climate and topography, which worked to our advantage geographically.
2) What is your selling point for this project?
As they say, Invest inland, they are not making it anymore. But investing in land is a science very few understand. The land is the most time tested and rewarding asset class in the long run, but the location and potential growth factors of the area are very important aspects.
Our selling point is to invest in land in a location where there is growth potential, and while your asset grows, you can enjoy the asset as a lifestyle because of the value additions that we offer on the land.
The Vineyard is located just off the new Satellite Town Ring Road being developed around Bengaluru, which is attracting a lot of SMEs and IT companies because of its great connectivity to the airport, affordable land rates, and great road network and connectivity to the other parts of the city. With the density increase in the long run, the land prices are bound to jump and give good returns.
3) Who is your target audience?
Our mission is to make land investment organised and a hassle-free experience in the country and available for everyone in the country.
With the increase in disposable income and purchase power, young India wants to invest but fears the hassles that come along with land investment. With an organised process and complete due diligence, we will ensure we offer land as an investment to every household.
We cater to all segments like HNI’s, Corporates and First Time Buyers through our various product lines.
4) What are your next project plans?
Ans: We aim to develop 300+ acres around the concept of the vineyards over the next 24-36 months. In addition to this, we plan to expand to residential community development built around the concept of modern architecture, self-sustainability, world themes and nature focussed.
5) Are you planning to expand this concept to other cities? Explain the process.
We are currently operating in three geographies, namely Delhi NCR, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, with Bengaluru as our headquarters.
A vineyard requires certain climatic conditions and cannot be developed everywhere, whereas land as an investment is a countrywide requirement. We are already catering to advisory for HNI’s and corporates in all three geographies, but we plan to expand our product line of farm communities to other cities as the policies allow.
6) What are the challenges and hurdles you faced while launching this project?
Land acquisition and development is our expertise and our history over the last decade clearly shows that.
We have transacted more than 700+acres and developed and delivered 300+ acres to 600+ families without any litigation.
The Vineyard is only 45 minutes from Hebbal and while acquiring land closer to the city, aggregation was a challenge as for a very long time, Karnataka limited the sale of agricultural land to only a certain section, but the transaction still took place, creating legal complications in the title.
With the abolition of Section 79A, 79B & 80, transacting has become easier but finding clear title lands is still a challenge. We had to scrutinise around 200 acres before we could find the right land for developing this project.
Winegrowing is an art and a highly technical task. The second challenge was to have the right team in order to ensure the vineyards setup and maintenance were done the right way. Our exclusive strategic collaboration with Grover Zampa Vineyards Limited helped us achieve that.
7) What are the Bengaluru real estate scenarios as of now? How has it changed owing to covid?
Bengaluru is the Silicon Valley of the country and is growing rapidly. Appreciation of real estate is directly linked to the possible increase in the population of the city. With the growing work opportunities and migration happening from other parts of the country to Bengaluru, demand for residential, commercial and land is bound to grow. Post covid the trend has changed, people have realised the value of space and those living in apartments aspire to a villa, and those who own a villa, aspire for a farm.
8) What are your future plans? How do you see yourself 5 years down the line?
We have major goals for the organisation in terms of expansion. We are focussed on developing communities on global themes centred around nature and self-sustainability with modern architecture.
We also plan to expand to different cities across the country and increase our footprint.
This is all that Ayan has to say. We wish him all the best for Agrocorp.
