About Us

GAP Advisory, marks the confluence of some of the best talent and personnel in the real estate industry, founded by a qualified team comprising of highly specialized experts with a combined experience of over 70 years in real estate and consulting. The firm was born out of the need to bring specialized and structured technical expertise to the technically intricate real estate industry.

Our Differentiator

On field experience – Our team comprises professionals who have relevant practical experience in evaluating and closing land / project deals, obtaining statutory approvals, managing risks, understanding sector nuances, and dealing with government authorities.
Niche focus – Land / project acquisition, optimizing development potential, obtaining related statutory approvals and faultless execution are the founding stones of any successful real estate project. Any misstep can derail not only the project but also the financial plans of any client. Our prime focus is to ensure that the project is planned and executed in a manner that optimizes the value of the asset / transaction / project from the client’s perspective.

Meet our founders

Rajesh Gaonkar, Managing Partner

Rajesh is a founding partner of GAP Advisory and is the Managing Partner. He is well known in the real estate industry for his attention to detail and knowledge centric approach in the area of land / project evaluation, regulatory navigation, government liaisoning and deal closure.

He has over 27 years of industry experience, including with Oberoi Realty and Mumbai International Airport Ltd., in leadership positions.

He has closed over 15 large land deals in MMR (an aggregate of ~ 250 acres) and managed 30 complex projects during his career. He is known for his divergent thinking and solution-oriented approach to optimize the value of the deals / projects.

Sunil Arora, Partner - Approvals

Sunil, an architect by profession, is a co-founder of GAP Advisory and heads the Approvals team. With over 35 years of experience in design and as a liasioning architect, Sunil is a specialist in obtaining regulatory approvals for all kinds of real estate projects.

With over 18 million sq. ft of approvals under his belt and expert knowledge of the building regulations, he has strategized and obtained some unprecedented approvals in the complex real estate market of Mumbai.

He has previously worked with Oberoi Realty as VP – Liasoning and Approvals. His hands on approach towards a project provides a complete end-to-end solution to clients.

Piyush Popatwala, Partner - Acquisitions & Regulatory

Piyush is a co-founder of GAP Advisory and leads the Acquisitions & Regulatory team. He holds an MBA from the Indian School of Business and is also a Chartered Accountant.

Piyush has previously worked in the MD’s Office at Oberoi Realty managing the Business Development, Liaisoning and Legal teams, ensuring management level control on projects. Prior to that he has worked with some of the top consulting firms in India such as KPMG and Grant Thornton in their Mergers & Acquisitions team.

Piyush’s management and consulting experience along with industry knowledge helps us provide a truly professional, well rounded and holistic solution to our clients.