FORBES & COMPANY LIMITED
48 Acres. Hidden Value. Multiple Paths to Monetisation.
BSE: 502865 | Current Price: ~₹302 | Market Capitalisation: ~₹390 crore
Investment View: Special Situation / Asset Monetisation / SOTP
INVESTMENT SUMMARY
Forbes & Company is difficult to value through conventional earnings metrics.
FY26 consolidated profit was only approximately ₹13.4 crore, while consolidated shareholders’ funds stood at approximately ₹199 crore. At a market capitalisation of roughly ₹390 crore, the company does not screen as particularly cheap on P/E or ROE.
The investment case is therefore different.
Forbes should be viewed as an asset-monetisation and special-situation opportunity rather than a conventional earnings-growth company.
The most important potential asset is Forbes’ economic exposure to Svadeshi Mills, which owns approximately 48 acres at Sion/Chunabhatti, Mumbai.
The recent Bombay High Court development materially improves the investment case: on 2 September 2026, the Division Bench allowed the revival proposal and set aside the earlier rejection, creating a pathway for revival and redevelopment of the property.
Our working SOTP produces an indicative NAV of approximately:
₹1,304–1,404 crore
₹1,011–1,088 per share
Base case: ~₹1,049 per share
Against a current price of approximately ₹302, this represents a substantial potential valuation gap.
1. COMPANY & FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT
| Particular | Forbes & Company |
|---|---|
| Current Price | ~₹302 |
| Market Capitalisation | ~₹390 crore |
| FY26 Consolidated Revenue | ~₹90 crore |
| FY26 Consolidated PAT | ~₹13.4 crore |
| Consolidated Shareholders’ Funds | ~₹199 crore |
| Debt | Effectively debt-free |
| Promoter Holding | ~73.85% |
| Promoter Pledge | ~98% of promoter holding |
| Indicative Base NAV | ~₹1,049/share |
The company operates across engineering, automation, real estate and investment-related activities and is part of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
The operating business itself does not justify an aggressive valuation. The potential upside comes from the difference between accounting value and economic value of legacy assets.
2. THE KEY ASSET — SVADESHI MILLS
Forbes and Forbes Campbell Finance collectively hold approximately 22.70% of Svadeshi Mills.
Svadeshi owns approximately:
48 acres at Sion/Chunabhatti, Mumbai
The Bombay High Court’s 2 September 2026 judgment is an important turning point.
The Court allowed the revival proposal after considering the long-running liquidation proceedings and recognised the approximately 48-acre Mumbai landholding as Svadeshi’s most valuable asset.
The revival proposal involves redevelopment rather than simply treating the property as a distressed asset for immediate sale.
Key points from the recent case:
-
Grand View Estates and Forbes collectively hold approximately 53.25% of Svadeshi Mills.
-
Forbes + Forbes Campbell Finance hold approximately 22.70%.
-
Grand View deposited ₹240 crore with the Official Liquidator.
-
Approximately ₹169 crore was distributed to workers.
-
The revival proposal addresses the interests of approximately 2,834 former workers.
-
Forbes/Grand View-related dues are subject to the revival/restructuring framework.
Source: Bombay High Court Division Bench judgment dated 2 September 2026.
Why this matters
For years, Svadeshi was primarily a distressed/legal situation.
The latest judgment potentially changes the narrative to:
Liquidation → Revival → Redevelopment → Monetisation
That creates a much more valuable optionality for Forbes.
3. SVADESHI — ILLUSTRATIVE REDEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
The historical ₹3,000 crore auction reference should not be used as a current valuation. It relates to an earlier period.
A better approach is to model the economics of today’s redevelopment.
Illustrative framework
-
Land: ~48 acres
-
Owner-side theoretical allocation: ~34%
-
Illustrative FSI: ~4x
-
Theoretical owner-side BUA: ~2.84 million sq ft
-
Illustrative effective free-sale BUA: ~2.0 million sq ft
-
Illustrative realisation: ~₹26,000/sq ft
-
Illustrative GDV: ~₹5,200 crore
-
Less development, rehabilitation, finance, taxes and other costs: ~40%
-
Illustrative residual project value: ~₹3,120 crore
This produces a potentially substantial economic value for Forbes/FCFL.
However, because creditor claims, rehabilitation obligations, development structure and eventual monetisation remain uncertain, we use a ₹900–1,000 crore working attributable value for Forbes in our base SOTP.
Important:
₹900–1,000 crore is an analytical scenario, not a company valuation or guaranteed recovery.
4. LODHA: THE REAL-WORLD MONETISATION PRECEDENT
The broader Mumbai Metropolitan Region provides an interesting precedent through Lodha’s Palava data-centre development.
Lodha’s disclosed data indicates that data-centre-related land values increased from approximately:
₹2.6 crore/acre in 2021
to
₹21 crore/acre in 2025
This represents approximately an 8× increase.
Lodha has also disclosed transactions with major institutional/data-centre players and is developing a large data-centre ecosystem at Palava.
The important lesson is not that Svadeshi will become a data-centre project.
Rather:
Strategic land can experience a significant increase in monetisation value when infrastructure, institutional capital and a credible developer converge.
That is the relevant correlation for Forbes.
Lodha / Palava vs Forbes / Svadeshi
| Lodha / Palava | Forbes / Svadeshi |
|---|---|
| Large strategic landholding | ~48 acres |
| Mumbai Metropolitan Region | Sion/Chunabhatti, Mumbai |
| Institutional infrastructure demand | Potential institutional/developer demand |
| Developer-led monetisation | Potential developer/JV monetisation |
| Land + infrastructure ecosystem | Land + redevelopment ecosystem |
| Possible land sale / development | Possible sale / JV / development rights |
Source: Lodha investor presentations and disclosed Palava transactions.
5. DATA-CENTRE OPTIONALITY — NOT INCLUDED IN BASE NAV
The data-centre angle should be treated carefully.
There is currently no established evidence that Svadeshi’s 48 acres is approved or designated for data-centre development.
Therefore, zero data-centre value is included in our base NAV.
The optionality exists because the Mumbai region is attracting significant data-centre investment and institutional capital.
A future developer could theoretically evaluate alternative high-value uses for the land, depending on planning permissions, infrastructure, economics and approvals.
Potential monetisation structures could include:
-
outright land sale;
-
development-right sale;
-
joint venture;
-
development management agreement;
-
phased development;
-
institutional transaction; or
-
specialised infrastructure development.
The most important point is that Forbes does not necessarily need to fund and execute the entire project itself.
A strong development partner could bring capital, execution capability and institutional relationships while the land contributes the strategic asset.
6. OTHER VALUE DRIVERS
Wagle Estate
Forbes has approximately 2.63 acres / 10,671 sq m at Wagle Estate, Thane.
The company has pursued development under an IT/ITES framework, with planned built-up area of approximately 6.2 lakh sq ft.
We use only approximately:
₹150 crore incremental value
in the SOTP, deliberately avoiding an aggressive gross-property valuation.
Vicinia — Chandivali
The residential development has substantially progressed:
-
Construction completed
-
Possession handed over for sold units
-
Approximately five flats remain unsold
-
Full OC expected around December 2026
We assign only:
₹5 crore residual uplift
This prevents the SOTP from relying on an excessive project valuation.
Other Property / Operating Business
We use a conservative:
-
₹20 crore other-property/value allowance
-
₹30 crore operating business/franchise uplift
No material additional MTM is assigned to listed investments because their value is already reflected within consolidated assets/equity.
7. SOTP VALUATION
Base NAV calculation
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| FY26 consolidated shareholders’ funds | ₹199 cr |
| Svadeshi attributable value | ₹950 cr |
| Wagle Estate incremental value | ₹150 cr |
| Vicinia residual uplift | ₹5 cr |
| Other property/value allowance | ₹20 cr |
| Operating business/franchise value | ₹30 cr |
| Listed investment MTM adjustment | ~₹0 |
| Indicative NAV | ₹1,354 cr |
At approximately 1.29 crore shares:
₹1,354 crore ÷ 1.29 crore shares = ~₹1,049/share
Current market price:
~₹302/share
Therefore:
Current price / Base NAV ≈ 0.29×
or approximately:
71% discount to our base NAV estimate
8. SOTP SENSITIVITY
The most important variable is Svadeshi.
| Scenario | Svadeshi Value | Total NAV | NAV/Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear / Delayed | ₹600 cr | ~₹1,004 cr | ~₹778 |
| Base Redevelopment | ₹950 cr | ~₹1,354 cr | ~₹1,049 |
| Strategic Monetisation | ₹1,200 cr | ~₹1,604 cr | ~₹1,244 |
| Developer / Institutional Unlock | ₹1,500 cr | ~₹1,904 cr | ~₹1,476 |
The ₹1,500 crore scenario is not a forecast.
It represents a scenario in which a credible developer/institutional partner materially improves the monetisation pathway and economics.
9. CATALYSTS
1. Svadeshi revival implementation
The September 2026 Bombay High Court decision provides a potentially important legal pathway toward revival and redevelopment.
2. Developer selection / JV
A credible developer entering the project could provide the first major external validation of the land economics.
3. Redevelopment approvals
FSI, rehabilitation and development approvals would significantly improve valuation visibility.
4. Wagle Estate execution
Actual construction, leasing or monetisation would establish a second independent value driver.
5. Vicinia completion
OC and final inventory monetisation could release capital.
6. Corporate restructuring
Further mergers, demergers or asset monetisation could unlock value.
10. KEY RISKS
Promoter pledge
Approximately 98% of promoter holding is pledged. This is a major risk and should be monitored closely.
Svadeshi complexity
Headline land value cannot simply be multiplied by 48 acres. The final value depends on creditor settlements, rehabilitation, development costs, FSI, approvals and the eventual structure.
Execution risk
Asset value can remain theoretical for years if development does not progress.
Low ROE
The operating business currently generates relatively low returns on capital.
Illiquidity
Forbes is a small-cap stock and can experience substantial price volatility.
Valuation risk
A large NAV discount can persist if investors do not see credible evidence of monetisation.
11. INVESTMENT CONCLUSION
FORBES & COMPANY — THE OFF-BALANCE-SHEET DIAMOND
At approximately ₹302/share, Forbes has a market capitalisation of only around ₹390 crore.
On conventional earnings metrics, the stock is not obviously cheap.
But conventional metrics may miss the central opportunity.
The September 2026 Bombay High Court decision potentially moves Svadeshi Mills from a long-running distressed/liquidation situation toward a revival and redevelopment pathway.
That matters because Svadeshi owns approximately 48 acres in Sion/Chunabhatti, Mumbai.
Lodha’s Palava experience provides a real-world example of how strategic land can attract institutional capital and achieve significantly higher monetisation values as infrastructure ecosystems develop.
We are not assuming Svadeshi becomes a data-centre project.
Instead, the Lodha case demonstrates the broader principle:
Strategic land + credible developer + institutional demand = potential value re-rating
Our working SOTP indicates:
Bear NAV: ~₹778/share
Base NAV: ~₹1,049/share
Strategic Monetisation: ~₹1,244/share
Developer/Institutional Unlock: ~₹1,476/share
The core investment thesis is therefore:
The market currently values Forbes primarily as a small, low-ROE operating company. The opportunity is that its legacy assets—particularly the 48-acre Svadeshi Mills exposure—could ultimately be worth substantially more once redevelopment and monetisation become visible.
THE OFF-BALANCE-SHEET DIAMOND
48 acres. Hidden value. Multiple paths to crystallisation.
DISCLOSURES
Holding: I do hold shares of Forbes & Company .
Relationship: I do not hold any relationship with promoter.
Valuation disclosure: The SOTP and all asset values presented above are analytical estimates/scenarios. They are not company guidance, independent registered valuations or guaranteed realisable values.
The data-centre scenario is not included in the base NAV and should be regarded solely as optionality.
DISCLAIMER
This report is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell securities.
Forbes & Company is a small-cap/special-situation investment and involves significant risks, including asset-monetisation risk, execution risk, regulatory risk, promoter pledge risk, creditor/restructuring risk, valuation uncertainty and liquidity risk.
Investors should independently verify the company’s financial statements, annual reports, stock-exchange filings, court orders, land titles, development approvals, creditor claims and related-party transactions before making any investment decision.
Investors should consult a SEBI-registered investment adviser where appropriate.
All calculations are indicative and may change materially as new information becomes available.