Raymond Lifestyle (RLL), a newly demerged entity from the ₹9,286-crore Raymond conglomerate, has recently appointed several prominent executives from India Inc as independent directors. These appointments come ahead of a potential listing scheduled for next month. Notable figures such as Vineet Nayar, former CEO of HCL Technologies, GC Chaturvedi, former chairman of ICICI, Anisha Motwani, board member of Abbott, and Dinesh Lal, a director at Raymond, have joined the board.
Gautam Singhania, chairman of Raymond, is expected to assume the role of managing director of Raymond Lifestyle. Additionally, Sunil Kataria, the current CEO of Raymond Lifestyle, will also join the newly formed board. Singhania emphasized the group’s commitment to enhancing shareholder value and highlighted the importance of having a board with high-caliber members. The diverse expertise of the new board members is anticipated to drive the company’s strategic vision and operational excellence, playing a crucial role in its long-term success.
The restructuring plan, which includes the demerger of the lifestyle business and the amalgamation of its consumer trading arm, was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June 2024. As part of the restructuring, Raymond shareholders will receive five shares of Raymond Lifestyle for every four shares of Raymond. This move aims to streamline the company’s operations and provide focused attention to each business vertical.
In addition to the lifestyle business demerger, Raymond’s board also approved the separation of its real estate business, which will be rebranded as Raymond Realty and listed automatically on stock exchanges. Consequently, shareholders will receive one share of the new entity for every one share held in Raymond. Post-demergers, the Raymond Group will comprise three distinct listed entities: Raymond Lifestyle, Raymond Realty, and Raymond, with each focusing on specific sectors such as lifestyle, real estate, and engineering, respectively.
Raymond Realty is currently monetizing its legacy land in Thane and exploring development projects in Bandra. The demerger will allow each business segment to receive focused leadership and scale appropriately. Singhania believes that the real estate arm will leverage its competitive advantage in timely project delivery and customer satisfaction to seize market opportunities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The company’s strategic focus will be on superior execution and quality to maintain market leadership amid competitive pressures.
