Monthly Archives: May 2012

Anand Rathi and Knight Frank Eye $100 million in Second Realty Fund

May 2, 2012 – 1:42 pm

Anand Rathi Financial Services and property consultancy Knight Frank India are planning to launch their second real estate fund by end of this months and looking to raise around Rs 500 crore (~$100 million), sources close to the development told VCCircle. Unlike its peers who are hitting foreign shores to raise new funds, the joint fund rental yield and appreciation portfolio (RYAP) fund will be raised from the domestic market.  Like its predecessor, it will invest in commercial assets in tier I cities which include Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, National Capital Region (NCR) and Chennai.

The fund would be targeting returns of 10-12 per cent from its investments and expects to stay invested in an asset for four-five years. A senior executive of the joint venture fund house who did not wish to be identified, said, “We are waiting for final Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) guidelines as right now there is no clarity on registration of funds and other norms. Once we have clarity on the same which we are expecting by mid-May we will register and start our fund raising process.”

On April 2, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had unveiled its final norms to regulate AIF’s in the country. Fund managers expect the detailed guidelines to be issued in the next two weeks.

Knight Frank India and Anand Rathi Financial Services had joined hands two years ago to raise Rs 225 crore rental yield fund. It has invested Rs 135 crore from the existing fund in two projects including Hub town Ltd’s commercial project in Mumbai and Cerebrum IT park development by Pune-based Kumar Urban Development Ltd.

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Blackstone and KKR on Indian Commercial Real Estate

May 2, 2012 – 1:41 pm

India’s UB Holdings is in talks with private equity funds Blackstone and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to sell some of its commercial real estate for 6.5 billion rupees ($123 million), writes Reuters. UB Holdings, controlled by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, is part of the UB Group that owns majority of United Spirits and United Breweries, apart from debt-laden carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which is looking for funds to continue operations, writes Reuters.

Reuters – India’s UB Holdings is in talks with private equity funds Blackstone and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to sell some of its commercial real estate for 6.5 billion rupees ($123 million), the Times of India newspaper reported on Tuesday citing unnamed banking sources.

 

The UB Tower in Bangalore, which Mallya is looking to sell, is occupied by companies like Apple, Citibank, and Yahoo, the report said. A UB Group spokesman, quoting Mallya, denied the company was in talks to sell the real estate space, the paper reported. Prakash Mirpuri, a UB spokesman, told Reuters there was no plan to sell UB Towers. He, however, could not immediately confirm whether other real estate assets from UB Holdings were up for sale. A Blackstone spokesman declined to comment, while KKR could not be immediately reached by Reuters on Tuesday, which is a local holiday in India. UB Holdings and the private equity players are considering a sale-and-lease-back model, with UB having the right to buy the property back after a specified period, the report said.

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Tata Housing Development to represent APAC at the International Property Awards in London

May 1, 2012 – 5:02 pm

Tata Housing Development Company (Tata Housing), India’s fastest growing real estate development company, with over 46 million sq ft under various stages of development, has once again triumphed at the most prestigious Asia Pacific Property Awards 2012 (part of the International Property Awards), for the fourth year in a row, bagging five coveted awards under various categories.

Tata Housing is the country’s only residential developer to receive the prestigious five-star award in the Leisure Architecture category for La Montana; highly commended awards in the Show Home category for Prive and Primanti; highly commended award in the Development Marketing category for La Montana; highly commended developer website for www.lamontana.co.in.

Additionally, La Montana, a Mediterranean-themed township located at Talegaon, designed by international architect firm F + A, was adjudged as an Asian contender in the Leisure Architecture category, to compete against the highest-scoring contenders from Europe, Africa, the Americas and Arabia, to find the ultimate ‘world’s best’.

Speaking on the achievement Brotin Banerjee, managing director and chief executive officer, Tata Housing, said, “At Tata Housing, it’s our constant endeavour to create benchmark projects based on the consumer’s needs and requirement. We are proud of our continued success at the Asia Pacific Property Awards. This year is special for us as our project La Montana achieved the distinction of winning the five-star rating for Best Leisure Architecture India, and it leads from the Asia Pacific region to be honoured with Best Leisure Architect Residential Asia Pacific. It is indeed a very proud moment for us as this is the only residential project to be nominated from India to represent the Asia Pacific region for the International Property Awards. This will strengthen our commitment to create landmark projects in the country.”

Held in association with Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Asia, the Asia Pacific Property Awards recognises 40 categories of distinction within the fields of development, interior design, architecture and real estate. Each project was judged by a team of 65 professionals from the property discipline. They are ascertained based on quality of design, construction and presentation of individual properties as well as interior, architecture and marketing.

The Asia Pacific Property Awards are part of the long-established International Property Awards and its winners’ logo is recognised as a symbol of excellence throughout the global industry. Founded 18 years ago, these accolades distinguish excellence in the property industry worldwide, and promote international standards. For the last four years consecutively, Tata Housing has been acknowledged with multiple accolades at this prestigious annual symposium, demonstrating that it is again at the forefront of the real estate industry in Asia.

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