Ian Henderson, the former chief executive of Land Securities, is set to be chairman of a second AIM-listed overseas property investor.

Henderson was revealed this morning as chairman of Ishaan Real Estate, which intends to invest in Indian development projects in southern and western India. Ishaan is aiming to raise £180m prior to flotation on AIM. Henderson will be joined by four other non-executive directors, who were not named.

‘The Indian property market is enjoying a period of high demand and Ishaan is well placed to benefit from this new market’s momentum and growth,’ said Henderson. ‘Ishaan will be shareholders alongside K Raheja Corp, one of India’s leading real estate developers, in an exciting portfolio of projects which Raheja itself will develop.’

Ishaan said it would seek to acquire stakes in projects, with a focus on Indian IT parks and SEZ (Special Economic Zone) projects, and also selectively in other schemes in India, including the commercial, hospitality, retail and residential sectors. It initially plans to acquire minority stakes in eight projects, valued by Cushman & Wakefield at £440m, in or around the Indian cities of Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune, with a planned output of 15.3m sq ft (1.42m sq m).

These cities, said Ishann, had been chosen for ‘their economic potential, the demand in these locations for the development of new high quality real estate assets and the availability of suitable land’.

Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Cazenove have been appointed joint global co-ordinators, joint bookrunners and joint lead managers. Deutsche will also act as Ishaan's nominated adviser.