RMZ Corp

RMZ Corp was founded in 2002 by Arjun Menda and his sons, Raj and Manoj Menda. Arjun Menda, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, had prior experience with companies like Mahindra & Mahindra and Gabriel India. He ventured into the real estate sector in 1980. Raj and Manoj Menda were associated with the K Raheja Group, managing operations in the southern region during the late 1990s. RMZ Corp executed its first project in Bangalore in 2002.[1][3]

In 2012, RMZ Corp expanded its presence in the residential real estate sector and introduced projects such as Latitude, Saawan, and Galleria. In February 2012, it received a $100 million investment from private equity firm Baring Private Equity Partners (BPEP).[4] Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) invested $300 million in RMZ Corp in 2013, acquiring a stake of 21%. In December 2015, the company acquired 0.8 million sq ft in Gurgaon from the real estate company BPTP for approximately $150 million.[5][6][7]

In 2016, the company ventured into the co-working space business with the launch of CoWrks, which operates in Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other locations.[8][9]

In 2018, RMZ Corp acquired Essar Group's Equinox Business Park, a 1.25 million sq. ft office space in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex for around ₹2,400 crore.[10] In the same year, the company repurchased shares from Qatar Investment Authority in a deal worth nearly $1 billion.[11][12] In 2019, RMZ Corp and DB Realty jointly acquired the Kamal Amrohi's film studio Kamalistan, located in Mumbai.[13]

In January 2020, RMZ Corp formed a US$ 1 billion joint venture with a Japanese real estate company Mitsui Fudosan to develop commercial projects throughout India.[14] In August 2020, the company sold 18 percent of its commercial real estate and co-working business to Brookfield for $2 billion, making it India's largest realty deal. The transaction included 12.5 million sq ft of assets.[15][16]

In April 2021, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board invested around $210 million in a joint venture with RMZ Corp to develop and hold commercial office space in Chennai and Hyderabad.[17] Later in March 2022, their second joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) was announced, in which CPPIB invested $355 million (around ₹2,650 crore) for the development of commercial projects in India.[18] RMZ Corp serves over 250 enterprise customers,[1] including Boeing, Google, Deloitte, SAP, Shell, Honeywell and KPMG.[19][20][21]

RMZ Corp is partnered with the social enterprise Saahas Zero Waste to manage its waste. The company composts approximately 60% of its total waste, which comprises wet waste and transforms the remaining dry waste into paper, bags, and other products through recycling. Their tech park, RMZ Ecoworld and RMZ Infinity have reduced mixed waste from 50% to around 15%, as of June 2017.[22]

In 2020, it became the first company to achieve the WELL Health-Safety Rating by the International WELL Building Institute for its efforts in supporting COVID-19 health and safety measures.[23] In the same year, RMZ Corp joined Well Living Lab Alliance, a global consortium of organizations.[24] In December 2022, it became a signatory member of the First Movers Coalition (FMC), an initiative by the World Economic Forum and the US government, promoting zero-carbon technologies and sustainability in carbon-intensive industries through low-carbon technology commitments.[25]

RMZ has integrated green building features into its various projects and is a founding member of the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) as well as a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).[26]

RMZ Foundation is a CSR arm of the company, founded in 2015, led by Anu Menda as the managing trustee. The foundation operates with a focus on art, resilient communities, and urban innovation, aiming to promote the well-being of individuals on a global scale.[27] The organization promotes art and has installed numerous artworks at RMZ Ecoworld, showcasing a permanent collection of sculptures by contemporary artists such as Subodh Gupta, Ravinder G Reddy, Dhruva Mistry, Paresh Maity, Arunkumar H G, and Jayasri Burman.[28] It provides a platform for interactive workshops, exhibitions, and collaborations, supporting both established and emerging artists in showcasing their work to a targeted audience.[29][30]

In 2019, RMZ Foundation established the Sustainable Health Initiative, a business accelerator supporting healthcare startups to address health and social disparities, providing selected companies with $70,000 in seed capital and mentorship.[31][32]

• LEED Arc Gold Certificate for the years 2008 and 2009[33][34][2]
• RMZ Ecoworld, Bengaluru won the 2018 Global Architecture and Design Awards (GADA) in the category of Office Building[35]
• Hurun Real Estate Leadership Summit and Excellence Award for the years 2017 & 2018[36][37]
• LEED Gold Certified 2018[38]
• RMZ Ecoworld won the 2020 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence by Urban Land Institute[39]
• CSR subsidiary RMZ Foundation conferred with Mahatma Award for Social Good 2021[40]
• The Economic Times's ET Business Excellence Award conferred the Lifetime Achievement award to Manoj Menda, chairman of RMZ Corp's contribution to the real estate sector.[41]
• LEED Platinum status from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for RMZ One Paramount, Chennai, in 2023[42]