Nexus Select Trust FY26 Results: Retail REIT Units or a Bangalore Flat
Nexus Select Trust, the first listed retail REIT in India, paid its unitholders about Rs. 9.1 a unit for the financial year 2025-26 and followed it with a higher payout for the June 2026 quarter. Its malls include four in Bangalore, so many investors in the city know the assets first-hand. This guide sets out the reported numbers, how a retail REIT earns its income and how it compares with a flat bought to let.
What the Trust Reported
Nexus Select Trust announced its results for the fourth quarter and the full year on 12 May 2026. The key figures are listed below.
- Distribution for the March 2026 quarter: Rs. 346.3 Crore, or Rs. 2.286 a unit
- Distribution for the full year: about Rs. 9.1 a unit, a rise of 9% over the previous year
- Retail net operating income for the quarter: Rs. 440 Crore, up 11% on the year
- Tenant sales in the quarter: up 19% on the year
- Occupancy: 97%, held for twelve quarters in a row since listing
- Loan to value: 18%, with an average debt cost of 7.3% and a AAA rating with a stable outlook
- Net asset value: Rs. 164 a unit as on 31 March 2026
The trust guided for a distribution of Rs. 9.8 to Rs. 10 a unit in 2026-27. The first quarter matched that pace. On 3 August 2026 the manager's board approved a payout of Rs. 369.96 Crore, or Rs. 2.442 a unit, for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
What the Trust Owns
The portfolio has 19 Grade A shopping centres with 10.7 million sq ft of leasable area in 15 cities. It also holds three hotels with 450 rooms and three office assets of 1.3 million sq ft. About 1,100 brands trade from more than 3,200 stores in its malls.
In Bangalore the trust owns Nexus Koramangala, Nexus Shantiniketan and Nexus Whitefield, and it added Vega City on Bannerghatta Road during 2025. Vega City and the MBD Complex were integrated into the portfolio in 2025-26. The trust has also announced the purchase of Diamond Plaza, a mall in Kolkata, and aims to double its portfolio by 2030.
How a Retail REIT Earns Its Income
A REIT is a trust that owns rent-earning property and passes most of its cash flow to unitholders. Its units trade on the NSE and the BSE like shares, and they are bought and sold through an ordinary demat account. An investor buys a small share of many buildings in place of one whole property.
The office REITs that Bangalore investors know earn rent from companies on long leases. A mall earns differently. Retailers usually pay a fixed minimum rent, and many leases add a share of the store's sales, so the income follows consumer spending.
That link cuts both ways. Strong tenant sales, such as the 19% growth in the March 2026 quarter, lift the rent. A slowdown in spending, a weak festive season or a shift of shoppers online would pull it down.
REIT Units and a Flat Bought to Let
A retail REIT and a rented flat both pay an income from property, but they behave very differently. The table sets the two side by side.
| Point | Nexus Select Trust units | A flat in Bangalore |
|---|---|---|
| Entry cost | The price of one unit | The full price, plus stamp duty and registration |
| Income | Quarterly distribution, about Rs. 9.1 a unit in 2025-26 | Monthly rent, less maintenance, vacancy and repairs |
| Selling | On the exchange, on any trading day | Through a buyer search that often takes months |
| Price movement | Changes every trading day | Changes slowly, and is seen only at a sale |
| Use and control | The investor has no say in either | Full: to live in, let, renovate or pass on |
| Loan | Bought from savings | Home loan available, with tax benefits |
The 2025-26 distribution works out to about 5.5% of the net asset value of Rs. 164 a unit. The return an investor earns depends on the market price paid, which is often above or below the net asset value. The payout is also not guaranteed, since it depends on how the malls trade.
A flat offers things a unit never will. The owner is able to live in it, the family inherits a home, and a loan lets the buyer control a large asset with a part payment. Its return comes from two sources, the rent and any rise in price over the holding period.
Tax on Distributions
A REIT payout is a mix of parts, and each part is taxed in its own way. The June 2026 quarter's Rs. 2.442 a unit was made up as follows:
- Interest: Rs. 1.041 a unit, paid after tax is deducted
- Dividend: Rs. 0.861 a unit
- Repayment of debt by the mall-owning companies: Rs. 0.537 a unit
- Other income: Rs. 0.003 a unit
The interest part is taxed at the investor's slab rate. The treatment of the dividend and the repayment parts follows the trust's tax disclosures for each payout. Read the distribution notice or ask a tax adviser before comparing the post-tax income with rent from a flat.
Checks Before Investing
A REIT is a market investment, and the usual care applies. These checks take an hour and cover the main risks.
- Read the latest results and the distribution history on the trust's investor pages or in its exchange filings
- Compare the unit price with the net asset value to see the premium or discount being paid
- Look at occupancy and tenant sales, since both drive the rent
- Note the loan to value, because higher debt raises the risk when interest rates climb
- Decide the holding period, as REITs suit income over years and not short-term trading
- Keep the amount small enough that a fall in the unit price does not upset other plans
Past distributions do not promise future ones, and the unit price may fall as well as rise. An investor who is new to listed property should start with a small amount.
Where Each One Fits
For most households the home to live in comes first, and a REIT does not replace it. Units suit an investor who already owns a home and wants property income without tenants, repairs or a large loan. They also spread the money across cities and across shopping, hotels and offices, where a single flat is one address in one locality.
A buyer who wants an asset to use, to borrow against and to hand down will still prefer a flat. Rental demand is deepest near the large office districts, such as Whitefield in the east and Koramangala closer to the centre. Our EMI calculator shows what a home at a given price costs each month, which is the figure to weigh against the rent.
