News tracker: March 24, 2024

Real estate companies donate ₹920 crs to political parties via electoral bonds

• DLF was the top donor with a contribution of ₹180 crs
• Prestige Group from Bengaluru was the 2^nd largest donor at ₹45 crs
• Mumbai-headquartered K Raheja Corp Private Ltd donated ₹ 21 crs & Rustomjee group donated ₹ 5 crs
• The BJP was by far the biggest beneficiary of electoral bonds scheme, receiving ₹ 6,061 crs followed by Trinamool Congress at ₹ 1,610 crs

Rekha Jhunjhunwala buys apartment worth  ₹11.76 cr in south Mumbai

• Luxury apartment purchased in Rockside Apartments Building on Walkeshwar Road in South Mumbai
• Apartment spans 1,666 sq ft on the 3rd floor
• Implied purchase price comes to ₹70,600 / sq ft
• Rekha Jhunjhunwala is a prominent investor in the Indian stock markets

Kishore Biyani offers ₹ 476 cr as one-time settlement for SOBO Central’s debt

• The SOBO Central mall at Haji Ali, once a prominent mall currently has no tenants except for a McDonald’s joint
• Creditors had approved a ₹ 475-cr bid from Runwal Group
• Kishore Biyani made a surprise ₹ 476-cr bid to the lenders just days after Runwal bid
• Canara Bank and PNB are the two primary charge holders in the account

Tata Projects leases 1.2 lakh sq ft office space in Mumbai’s Powai

• The leased space is in Cignus Powai, part of K Raheja Corp’s Chalet project
• The leased space can accommodate 1,000+ employees
• Agreement is for 5 years & rentals of ₹ 86 crs will be paid during the entire tenure
• Cignus Powai is a single commercial tower with 7.5 lakh sq office space across 1-16 floors situated adjacent The Westin Mumbai Powai Lake & Marriott Executive apartments

Bank of America leases over one lakh sq ft office space in Mumbai

• 9-year lease signed for space in Mumbai’s Mindspace in Malad West
• The newly leased facility will accommodate over 3,000 employees
• Lease agreement entails a total rental payment exceeding ₹120 cr
• Company now holds 2.70 lacs sq ft space in the tower

Prestige Group acquires 62.5 acres land in Indirapuram Extension

• Land acquired for ₹ 468 cr, implying a purchase price of  ₹7.5 cores/acre
• 10 million sq ft of saleable area with a vision to develop residential spaces, along with educational & retail facilities
• Projected gross development value of ₹ 10,000 cr
• Project expected to launch within the next two quarters with a development timeline of 4 years

MahaRERA cancels sale agreements as homebuyers fail to pay

• MahaRERA directed nine homebuyers to execute cancellation deeds due to non-payment after Gera Developments’ complaint
• Homebuyers failed to make payments as per their agreements, leading the developer to issue demand notices and terminate the agreements
• MahaRERA’s chairman directed allottees to execute the cancellation deed within 30 days
• Some allottees paid their dues, while others did not, prompting the developer to seek non-compliance action from MahaRERA

SWAMIH fund approves ₹ 340 cr for Vatika project in Gurugram

• Project spans 14 acres & 640 apartments, with 150 units sold prior to SWAMIH’s involvement
• Price of the project has increased significantly after SWAMIH’s intervention, leading to a steady influx of buyers
• Phase 1 is expected to offer possession by Oct 2024, with the entire project slated for completion by Jan 2026
• SWAMIH Investment Fund aims to complete stalled, RERA-registered residential developments in the affordable housing/middle-income category

M3M promoters get interim bail from trial court in money laundering case

• Basant Bansal & Pankaj Bansal granted bail in case by Anti-Corruption Bureau
• Case alleges that illegal gratification was given to a Special Judge for seeking favorable orders
• Bail was sought on the ground that chargesheet were filed without arrest & they have fully cooperated during the investigation

Haryana RERA cancels registrations of five housing projects of Mahira Infratech

• Revocation as a result of builder’s failure to comply with the RERA Act to complete construction of all five affordable housing in Gurugram
• Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd was found to have unlawfully diverted funds from innocent homebuyers across all five projects
• Affected housing projects include Mahira Homes Sector 68, 104, 103, 63A & 95
• Authority prohibited promoter’s access to project-related websites & froze the projects’ bank accounts until further orders

WeWork India leases 1.3 lakh sq ft office space in Chennai

• New center in Chennai equipped with 2,000+ desks & set to become operational in June 2024
• WeWork India now has a presence across eight cities – New Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad.
• Currently operational since 2017, WeWork India has a portfolio of 8 million sq ft with 54 coworking centres with over 90,000 desks

Pune real estate market sees 23% YoY increase in registrations in February 2024

• 17,570 units registered in Feb 24 compared to 14,284 in Feb 23
• stamp duty collections in Feb 2024 also witnessed substantial growth to ₹ 620 crs from  ₹517 crs in Feb 2023
• In 2023, overall, 152,323 properties were registered in Pune district
• Registration of residential units priced between ₹ 50 lakh and ₹ 1 cr was the highest at 32% of all housing transactions

Twenty-Five Downtown Realty raises ₹ 250 cr from Oaktree

• ₹250 crs raised by JV for 2 years at 18% per year
• Money raised amid ongoing dispute of with DLF & Shapoorji Pallonji alleging that Hubtown connived with Omkara Arc & PNB finance to gain control
• Bonds guaranteed by Hubtown promoters Vyomesh Shah, Hemant Shah, Twenty-Five South Realty, Nitant Real Estate & Hubtown Ltd
• Utilization of funds for corporate purposes & project costs as per disclosures

MahaRERA proposes three separate bank accounts for better monitoring of projects

• Separate collection account for all funds received from customers
• 2^nd account for 70% of the project, land and construction expenses
• A transaction account for the balance 30% of the developer’s funds
• Discussion paper floated and suggestions and objections invited till April 15

Mindspace REIT raises ₹ 340 cr through NCDs

• NCDs have a tenure of 3 years & offer a fixed coupon of 7.93% per annum, payable quarterly
• The issuance is rated CRISIL AAA/Stable
• Approval in place for issuance of NCDs and commercial papers amounting to ₹ 2,500 cr till FY 2025

Zara founder buys Luxembourg office building for $189 million

• Amancio Ortega, the Spanish billionaire and founder of Zara bought the office through his family office Pontegadea
• Pontegadea’s total real estate assets are now valued at $20.1 bn mainly in luxury buildings & office towers
• The 10,000-square-meter property in Luxembourg City is 95% leased to large law firms and private equity players
• Prior to this acquisition, Pontegadea bought a logistics center in the Netherlands earlier in 2024