Debt-free developer to step up expansion

“We took over Land and Property Group from our father and his friends in 1997, when the company faced a debt burden of up to Bt200 million,” he said.
His elder brother, Chana, and young brother, Piti, and he began running the business by successfully negotiating a debt haircut of up to 80 per cent with creditors.
They then launched their first townhouse project, the Bt100-million Kitiya, located at Bhuddhamonthon Sai 4-Rama II, in 2000 with homes priced from Bt900,000 per unit.
With all units in that project being sold, the company was inspired to expand its investment by launching additional residential projects at an average rate of one every two or three years.
“From the financial crisis in 1997, we learned to do business by using our cash flow rather than getting project finance from the banks, because we did not want to shoulder more debt. As a result, we would launch a new project only when we had sold out and delivered an existing one to customers,” Sayam explained.
This has therefore been the company’s strategy for the past 15 years, with the focus being on the development of detached-housing and townhouse projects, with homes costing between Bt2 million and Bt10 million.
“Residential demand began to return to the market in 2000 and has since driven our business to grow by 10 per cent a year on average,” he said.
However, from next year through to 2020, Land and Property Group plans to quicken the pace of its launches, with one project a year worth up to Bt1 billion, thanks to the company’s healthy financial position, which makes it strong enough to get project financing from the banks, the managing director said.
Business is expected to expand by double digits annually over the period, reaching Bt500 million in 2020, he added.
The company, which expects this year’s overall revenue will come in at Bt295 million, has a Bt500-million backlog of homes that will be transferred to customers over the next two years.
Land and Property Group predicts revenue of Bt300 million next year from its backlog and the launch of a Bt1-billion detached-housing project, comprising homes costing Bt3.49 million to Bt8 million.
“Although we are a small property firm that develops residential projects in the south of Bangkok, such as Rama II and the Bhuddhamonthon area, we believe our business strategy of focusing on design and function, and being flexible in accommodating customer demand, will enable us to maintain our growth and complete with leading developers in the market,” Sayam said.
The company has a strong market base in the southern part of the capital, he said, adding that it knows what customers want and develops housing to meet that demand.
“This has been the key to our success since 1997,” he stressed.