Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available.
Rating Rationale
Acuité has upgraded it's long-term rating to 'ACUITE B+' (read as ACUITE B plus) from 'ACUITE B-' (read as ACUITE B minus) on the Rs. 1600 Cr. Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD) of Century Joint Developments Private Limited (CJDPL). The outlook is 'Stable'.
Rationale for rating
The rating upgrade takes into the account the before time debt servicing of the placed NCDs supported by healthy sales momentum from the launched projects – Midtown and Silicon City along with strong collection efficiency. Further, the rating derives strength from the company’s healthy liquidity position which provides adequate cushion for debt repayments in FY27. However, the rating remains constrained by high project execution and moderate future collection risk due to lower-than-expected project progress on account of labour shortages along with significant geographical concentration risk, and inherent cyclicality in the real estate industry. Further, the rating continues to reflect the established track record of the Century Group in the Bengaluru real estate market, which mitigates demand risk to a certain extent.
About the Company
Established in 2010, Century Joint Developments Private Limited (CJDPL) is a part of the Century group based in Bangalore and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Century Real Estate Holdings Private Limited (CREH). The company is engaged in the development of residential and commercial real estate projects through its group entities. The company has currently issued NCDs amounting to Rs. 1600 Cr. which are secured against pool of 9 projects namely Ethos, Landmark, Silicon City, Downtown T3, Midtown, Vaderapura, Calina, Mysore Land, and Meenukunte, being developed across various entities of the Century Group. The directors of the company are Mr. Mahesh Attur Prabhu, Mr. Udupi Vivekananda Nayak, and Ms. Keerthana Sakala.
Unsupported Rating
Not Applicable
Analytical Approach
Acuité has considered the standalone business and financial risk profile of CJDPL to arrive at the rating.
Key Rating Drivers
Strengths
Established track record of operations Century Joint Developments Private Limited (CJDPL) is a part of the Century group and a wholly owned subsidiary of Century Real Estate Holdings Private Limited (CREH). Backed by over five decades of experience in the real estate sector, the Century Group is a well-established and prominent developer in Bengaluru. The group holds a significant land bank of more than 3,000 acres and currently has over 20 million sq. ft. of real estate projects under development. Moreover, the group has provided security collateral comprising nine projects being undertaken through various group entities to secure the rated NCDs. These projects together have a total saleable area of approximately 13 million sq. ft. Of the nine collateralised projects, only four projects, namely Ethos, Landmark, Silicon City and Midtown, have commenced construction in a phased manner. Therefore, the timely launch of the remaining projects as per the envisaged schedule remains a key monitorable.
Healthy sales traction from launched projects While the project Silicon City and Midtown are at nascent stages of construction (~8 percent cost incurred for Silicon City and ~20 percent cost incurred for Midtown till April 2026), however, the demand risk stood low marked by healthy sales traction wherein ~14 percent of total area is sold for Silicon City and ~38 percent of total area is sold for Midtown. Further, the total sales values across the projects stood at ~Rs. 1000 Cr. as of April 2026 with a collection efficiency of ~40 percent. Going forward, the company plans to meet the remaining project cost and debt repayments through customer collections, therefore, timely receipt of collections of receivables and continued sales momentum will remain key rating monitorable.
Weaknesses
High project execution risk The project execution risk continues to remain high, as only four projects are in construction phase, while the remaining projects are under planning and approval stages. Hence, the implementation risk remains elevated, as reflected in the nascent stage of project development, with less than 3 percent of total project cost incurred as of April 2026. This progress is lower than previously envisaged due to labour shortages encountered during the West Bengal elections, which affected the pace of execution. Further, there exists significant unsold inventory implying sales and demand risk. Therefore, as a substantial portion of the project expenditure is yet to be incurred over the medium term, the projects remain exposed to timely execution and implementation risks along with high unsold inventory.
Geographical concentration risk CJDPL’s business profile remains vulnerable to geographical concentration, with majority of its ongoing projects are in Bangalore with one in Mysore. Until the company diversifies into other regions, this concentration exposes it to localized demand fluctuations and competitive pressures from established developers in the area. Furthermore, the company continues to remain exposed to intense competition from the established real estate developers in Bangalore. However, these risks are mitigated to some extended with established position and track record of Century Group in Bangalore.
Susceptibility to cyclicality inherent in the Indian real estate industry The real estate segment in India is cyclical and affected by volatile prices and opaque transactions. Further, the real estate industry in India is highly fragmented, with most developers having a city-specific or region-specific presence. The risks associated with the industry are cyclical in nature and directly linked to fluctuations in property prices and interest rates, which could affect the sales velocity and the operations of the project. Moreover, the industry is also exposed to certain regulatory policies and regulations which directly impacts the demand and operating growth of real estate players. Further, the company continues to remain exposed to intense competition from established players in the industry. Hence, business risk profile of the company will remain susceptible to risks arising from any industry slowdown.
Assessment of Adequacy of Credit Enhancement under various scenarios including stress scenarios (applicable for ratings factoring specified support considerations with or without the “CE” suffix)
CJDPL maintains a debt service reserve account (DSRA) equivalent to one quarter of interest and principal obligations along with waterfall and escrow mechanism.
Stress case Scenario
Acuité believes that, given the presence of DSRA, waterfall and escrow mechanism, CJDPL will be able to service its debt on time, even in a stress scenario.
ESG Factors Relevant for Rating
The group is committed to improving their performance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors through practices in its project development by deploying a zero liquid discharge system, low-flow sanitary fixtures, and curing compounds to reduce water usage. It actively promotes green building standards especially LEED certifications for its projects, uses solar modules, energy-efficient fixtures, and 5-star rated appliances to cut carbon emissions, and tracks pollutants via the GHG Protocol. Further, the group does not engage in forced labour or child labour, and has strict policies in place to prevent such practices. It also promotes diversity & inclusion through its equal opportunity hiring policy that prohibits discrimination based on caste, gender, religion, etc. Moreover, on the governance; the parent company has an internal compliance committee, led by a dedicated compliance officer, responsible for ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations.
Rating Sensitivities
Potential triggers (individual or collective) for an upward rating action:
Higher-than-expected sales of inventory along with timely receipt of customer advances leading to DSCR above 2.0 times
Improvement in the project progress with timely completion of project
Significant debt refinancing leading to improvement in the financial risk profile
Potential triggers (individual or collective) for a downward rating action:
Delay in completion of the ongoing real estate projects resulting in cost overruns or lower than expected sales resulting in project’s average DSCR falling below 1.5 times
Significant increase in exposure to group entities in the form of loans & advances
All Covenants
Minimum security cover of 2.5x shall be always maintained.
Corporate guarantee from Hold Co of all projects and land owning entities.
Personal guarantee from all sponsors.
Cash shortfall undertaking from Hold Co and sponsors.
Liquidity Position
Adequate
The liquidity profile of the company is marked adequate, backed by the receipt of customer advances from the project amounting to ~Rs. 400 Cr. from project Midtown and project Silicon City collected till April 2026. Further, the liquidity is expected to be further supported by the incremental sales and collections of customer advances from the ongoing projects in order to repay its debt obligations. Moreover, the company is expected to generate cash flow of ~Rs. 800 Cr. in 11MFY27 against debt repayment obligations of ~Rs. 450 Cr. (principal repayment scheduled to commence from Sept 2026). Further, the average debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) of the company is expected to be around ~1.84 times over the debt tenure. Also, the liquidity is supported by healthy cash and bank balances of ~Rs. 340 Cr. as of April 30, 2026 (including DSRA parked in the form of fixed deposits).
Outlook: Stable
Other Factors affecting Rating
None
Particulars
Unit
FY 26 (Actual)
FY 25 (Actual)
Operating Income
Rs. Cr.
25.36
56.09
PAT
Rs. Cr.
213.47
32.91
PAT Margin
(%)
841.73
58.66
Total Debt/Tangible Net Worth
Times
(6.02)
(4.12)
PBDIT/Interest
Times
4.02
1.85
Status of non-cooperation with previous CRA (if applicable)
Note:- For activities or ratings of instruments falling under the purview of Financial Sector Regulators other than SEBI, the grievance / dispute redressal mechanisms and investor protection mechanisms provided by SEBI shall not be available.
Contacts
List of instruments and names of regulators of the instruments
