As the availability of new land tightens and competition increases in India’s key urban markets, strategic buyers are increasingly using the corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to gain access to urban real estate assets.The framework plays an increasingly important role in facilitating ownership transitions and land consolidation in cities with a limited supply. This shift is reflected in a series of recent decisions from bankruptcy courts across the country.
Data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India shows that 8,659 companies had initiated insolvency proceedings by the end of September, of which around 1,905 were real estate companies. About 1,472 of these have received resolution plans from bidders, underscoring the growing role of the bankruptcy framework in the Indian real estate market.
“For buyers evaluating large urban parcels, insolvency-led transactions offer much more certainty over ownership, approvals and timelines than conventional land deals. Once a resolution plan is approved, execution risks reduce significantly. Therefore, serious developers are willing to write big checks at this stage rather than chasing piecemeal land assemblies,” said Sanjay Daga, MD and CEO, Anex Advisory.According to him, projects acquired through the insolvency process have no past or hidden liabilities, providing absolute clarity.
Ajay Khatlawala, senior partner at law firm Little & Co, said assets with all regulatory approvals in established locations are seeing strong demand at a time when the sector is witnessing an unprecedented uptick in activity. Developers, he said, are attracted to such assets because the settlement process produces “clean” ownership, free of legacy liabilities and often at competitive valuations.
Large conglomerates have also used the insolvency resolution mechanism to build sizeable land banks. In November, Adani Enterprises received the nod from lenders to acquire Jaiprakash Associates through the resolution process under a plan worth over Rs 14,500 crore, giving the group access to 3,985 hectares of land spread across Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
In July, the group acquired two assets from defunct developer Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd, including a commercial property in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex and a plot of land in Kalyan Shahad on the outskirts of the city.
Mumbai has seen a steady stream of similar transactions. In April, the tribunal approved the takeover of Neptune Developers by Shree Naman Developers, which had admitted debts of around Rs 2,119 crore. The resolution plan proposed a payment of Rs 390 crore for the revival of the company.
In August, secured lenders approved a consortium led by Oberoi Realty, along with Shree Naman Developers and JM Financial Properties, to acquire Hotel Horizon, whose main asset is a 1.85-acre plot in Mumbai’s prime locality of Juhu, overlooking the Arabian Sea.
In August 2024, the tribunal approved it Oberoi Real Estate Affiliate Oberoi Constructions’ resolution plan to acquire Nirmal Lifestyle Realty, detailing a comprehensive restructuring under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
The scheme involved payments of around Rs 273 crore to financial, operational and other creditors, against claims of over Rs 748 crore. The company had initiated insolvency proceedings in December 2021.
Other transactions include Macrotech Developers’ acquisition of V Hotels, owner of Tulip Star, formerly known as Centaur Hotel, located on a 6.1-acre plot on Juhu Tara Road in Mumbai’s western suburb of Vile Parle. Meerut-based Raghupati Construction was also acquired by NASA Consortium.
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