Rating Rationale
August 31, 2020 | Mumbai
Brigade Enterprises Limited
Rating Reaffirmed
 
Rating Action
Total Bank Loan Facilities Rated Rs.350 Crore
Long Term Rating CRISIL A/Stable (Reaffirmed)
1 crore = 10 million
Refer to annexure for Details of Instruments & Bank Facilities
Detailed Rationale

CRISIL has reaffirmed its 'CRISIL A/Stable' rating on the long-term bank facility of Brigade Enterprises Limited (BEL; a part of the Brigade group).
 
The rating continues to reflect the Brigade group's strong track record in the real estate market in Bengaluru, diverse revenue profile, and adequate financial flexibility supported by demonstrated refinancing ability and steady construction progress in ongoing projects. These strengths are partially offset by moderate debt levels stemming from past land acquisition and capital expenditure (capex) outlays, and exposure to cyclicality inherent in the real estate segment.
 
Construction activity was suspended from March 23, 2020, until the first week of May 2020 owing to the nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government of India to contain the spread of Covid-19. While construction has resumed to around 50% of pre-pandemic level, it will still take some more time to recover fully. This, in turn, will affect future collections, while new sales may also witness a slowdown due to weak market sentiment. Nevertheless, the group achieved sales of 4.2 lakh square feet (sq. ft) in the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal 2021, while collections were Rs 283 crore, against 11.3 lakh sq. ft and Rs 341 crore, respectively, for the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
 
Operational office assets continued to perform well with rental collection efficiency of 98% for Q1 2021. However, subdued economic activity or extended period of work-from-home adopted by certain corporates may lead to build up of vacancy and also affect leasing of new spaces; the group is expected to add close to 20 lakh sq. ft of incremental space in the next 12 months. Furthermore, while the retail assets have opened following relaxation in lockdown norms, tenants such as multiplexes and entertainment centres have not yet been permitted to recommence operations. Revocation of these measures will depend on any further directive from the government and prolonged closure may further deteriorate the credit risk profile of these assets. The outlook for hospitality segment also remains weak with recovery dependent on revival of domestic and international travel.
 
Despite this, debt protection metrics should remain adequate over the medium term, with debt-to-total assets ratio (for the development business) below 35.0% and debt service coverage ratio (for lease business) at around 1.50 times. Liquidity is sufficient, with cash and equivalents of Rs 461 crore and undrawn bank lines of about Rs 2,000 crore. Nevertheless, CRISIL will closely monitor the events around the pandemic and the ability of the Brigade group to resume operational normalcy will remain a rating sensitivity factor.

Analytical Approach

For arriving at the rating, CRISIL has fully combined the business and financial risk profiles of all ongoing and planned projects in BEL and those in its subsidiaries and associate companies. All these entities, collectively referred to as the Brigade group, are in the same business, have common promoters, and share significant operational, managerial, and financial linkages.
 
CRISIL has treated the fully convertible debentures of Rs 258 crore (as on March 31, 2019) from GIC as neither debt nor equity. The instruments are long-tenured (converted into equity at the end of 20 years; March 9, 2036, for Rs 238 crore and April 6, 2037, for Rs 20 crore), and the coupon and principal payment have no scheduled due date. GIC and BEL have jointly invested in three land parcels till date. The two companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding to jointly invest Rs 1,500 crore in land purchase.
 
Also, unsecured loans (Rs 119 crore as on March 31, 2019) from promoters have been treated as neither debt nor equity as these are from promoters, are interest-free, and do not have fixed repayment schedule.

Please refer Annexure - Details of Consolidation, which captures the list of entities considered and their analytical treatment of consolidation.

Key Rating Drivers & Detailed Description
Strengths
* Strong track record and established position in Bengaluru market
The Brigade group is a prominent developer in Bengaluru, with a healthy track record of over three decades in the real estate business. It has developed close to 300 lakh sq. ft, mostly in the residential segment. Strong position is evident from its established brand, and market share of 3-5%; a healthy share for the highly fragmented real estate industry.
 
* Moderately diversified revenue profile
The Brigade group's income is derived from three main businesses: real estate development, lease assets, and hospitality. The group generated Rs 2,539 crore of cash inflow in fiscal 2020, with real estate development contributing close to 70% of the inflow. In addition to the ongoing real estate development portfolio of 138.3 lakh sq. ft, the group has a lease asset portfolio of 45.1 lakh sq. ft and seven operational hotels (three in Bengaluru and one each in Mysuru, Chennai, Kochi and Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) as on June 30, 2020. The group is expected to add around 20.0 lakh sq. ft of leasable commercial office area and expand its hospitality business to 1,479 keys over the next 12-18 months.
 
* Adequate financial flexibility
Financial risk profile is characterised by moderate collections from the real estate segment, which is likely to generate customer advances of over Rs 1,000 crore over the medium term. Furthermore, financial flexibility is supplemented by the group's demonstrated refinancing ability, access to unutilised bank limit of about Rs 2,000 crore, and flexibility to raise additional lease rental discounting loan against its expected lease income of over Rs 500 crore per annum.
 
Weaknesses
* Moderate debt level due to large land acquisition and development plans
Capital structure is leveraged. Aggressive land acquisitions in the past and large capex in the commercial and hospitality segments led to high debt. Thus, gearing is likely to increase to 1.50 times in the near term from 1.31 times as on March 31, 2020.
 
The group does not have an immediate plan to acquire any new large land parcel in this fiscal. This, coupled with completion of a large chunk of the planned capex, resulted in debt of Rs 4,085 crore as on June 30, 2020, against Rs 3,409 crore (CRISIL adjusted) as on March 31, 2019. Part of the construction finance debt is expected to be replaced by more stable lease rental discounting loans over the near term; occupancy certificate has been received for the group's WTC Chennai and Brigade Tech Gardens projects, while all planned hotels are expected to become operational by end of fiscal 2022. Cash flow could be adversely impacted by any sharp increase in debt for aggressive land acquisition, funding project construction work in case of subdued sales, or substantial delays in leasing of new office assets; these will hence remain key rating sensitivity factors.
 
* Exposure to cyclicality inherent in the real estate sector
Cyclicality in the real estate segment could lead to fluctuations in cash inflow because of volatility in realisations and saleability. In contrast, cash outflow, such as debt repayment, are relatively fixed. Any decline in demand could weaken sales velocity or occupancies, thereby affecting collections and deteriorating the financial risk profile.
Liquidity Strong

The Brigade group has adequate liquidity supported by good saleability and collections in the ongoing projects as well as expected for new launches. External borrowing has been used to fund only 34.2% (outstanding debt to total assets) of project cost and capex as of June 2020. Financial flexibility is supported by strong refinancing ability. The Brigade group has unsold inventory of around Rs 4,600 crore in ongoing projects along with almost fully paid up land bank with development potential of around 262.0 lakh sq. ft against which additional debt can be raised, if required. Furthermore, undrawn bank lines of about Rs 2,000 crore and cash and equivalents of Rs 461 crore as on June 30, 2020, support liquidity. Liquidity is further supplemented by steady cash flow from lease business and the ability to raise additional lease rental discounting loans, if required.

Outlook: Stable

CRISIL believes the Brigade group should maintain its business risk profile over the medium term, driven by its established market position. Financial risk profile is likely to remain adequate owing to healthy financial flexibility and backing of lease rentals to service debt obligation.
 
Rating sensitivity factors
Upward factors
* Sales increasing to over 30.0 lakh sq. ft in fiscal 2021, thereby improving cash flow
* Substantial progress in leasing of new assets
* Sizeable increase in share of lease and hospitality income in the overall sales mix
 
Downward factors
* Steep decline in operating cash flow, triggered by slackened saleability of existing and proposed projects
* Extensive delay in completion and leasing of the ongoing commercial projects
* Significant delay or cost overrun in the ongoing hospitality projects
* Higher-than-expected borrowing, resulting in gearing exceeding 1.50 times

About the Brigade Group
BEL is the flagship company of the Brigade group, which was established in 1986 by Mr. M R Jaishankar, and is one of the largest players in the real estate market of South India. Till date, it has developed around 300 lakh sq. ft, 80% of which has been in the residential segment. Though it mainly focuses on the Bengaluru market, the group has developed projects in Mysuru, Cochin, Chennai, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
 
In the three months ended June 30, 2020, consolidated net loss was Rs 64 crore on operating income of Rs 203 crore, against a net profit of Rs 46 crore on operating income of Rs 709 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year.

Key Financial Indicators
As on/for the period ended March 31,   2020* Provisional 2019
Actual
Operating income Rs crore 2,632 2,973
Profit after tax (PAT) Rs crore 114 282
PAT margin % 4.3 9.5
Adjusted debt/adjusted net-worth Times 1.31 1.47
Interest coverage Times 2.10 3.03
*Financials for fiscal 2020 are based on limited results and, hence, not comparable with previous fiscal

Any other information: Not applicable

Note on complexity levels of the rated instrument:
CRISIL complexity levels are assigned to various types of financial instruments and are included (where applicable) in the Annexure -- Details of Instrument in this Rating Rationale. For more details on the CRISIL complexity levels, please visit www.crisil.com/complexity-levels.
Annexure - Details of Instrument(s)
ISIN Name of instrument Date of allotment Coupon rate (%) Maturity date Issue size (Rs crore) Complexity level Rating assigned with outlook
NA Proposed long-term bank loan facility NA NA NA 350 NA CRISIL A/Stable
 
Annexure - List of entities consolidated
Fully consolidated entities Extent of consolidation Rationale for consolidation
BCV Developers Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Brigade Properties Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Brookefields Real Estates and Projects Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Perungudi Real Estates Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
SRP Prosperita Hotel Ventures Ltd Full Subsidiary
Orion Property Management Services Ltd (formerly known as Orion Mall Management Co. Ltd) Full Subsidiary
Brigade Hospitality Services Ltd Full Subsidiary
WTC Trades & Projects Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Brigade Tetrarch Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Brigade Estates & Projects Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Brigade Infrastructure & Power Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Celebrations LLP Full Subsidiary
Brigade (Gujarat) Projects Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Mysore Projects Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Brigade Innovations LLP Full Subsidiary
Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd Full Subsidiary
Augusta Club Pvt. Ltd Full Subsidiary
Tandem Allied Services Pvt. Ltd Partial Associate with 37% shareholding
*Details as on March 31, 2019
Annexure - Rating History for last 3 Years
  Current 2020 (History) 2019  2018  2017  Start of 2017
Instrument Type Outstanding Amount Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Date Rating Rating
Fund-based Bank Facilities  LT/ST  350.00  CRISIL A/Stable      09-05-19  CRISIL A/Stable  30-04-18  CRISIL A/Negative  24-04-17  CRISIL A/Negative  CRISIL A/Negative 
All amounts are in Rs.Cr.
Annexure - Details of various bank facilities
Current facilities Previous facilities
Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating Facility Amount (Rs.Crore) Rating
Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 350 CRISIL A/Stable Proposed Long Term Bank Loan Facility 350 CRISIL A/Stable
Total 350 -- Total 350 --
Links to related criteria
CRISILs Bank Loan Ratings - process, scale and default recognition
CRISILs Rating criteria for Real Estate Developers
CRISILs Criteria for Consolidation

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