The firm wants to take on domestic housebuilders like Berkeley and Barratt with an investment of more than £3bn by the end of 2018.

Abhishek Lodha, managing director, told the Financial Times he planned “the largest foreign direct investment in the UK housing space ever”.

Lodha said: “We want to be among the top two developers in London in the next five years.

“Our idea is to make significant investments, which will come out of the cash flows we are generating here in Mumbai.”

The firm has already struck a major deal in the capital with the purchase of the former Canadian High Commission building in Mayfair for £306m last year.

Lodha said he now planned to spend about £1.8bn acquiring new assets plus a further £1.2bn on construction of properties ranging from super-prime to mid-market.