Century Group, which has a land bank of 2,000 acres of prime property in and around Bangalore, is raising debt of Rs 800 crore to complete several of its ongoing projects. While Rs 200 crore is being raised at the enterprise level, another Rs 600 crore is being raised at a special purpose vehicle level for a hospitality project in which Canada-based Four Seasons is expected to manage the hotel.
Industry sources indicate that Century has resorted to debt as a plan to raise private equity is getting delayed owing to the economic crisis. The Group was expected to mop up around $200 million from a Goldman Sachs-led consortium, which is understood to be put on hold. It had earlier raised $300 million from Goldman and Fortress Group.
The company, better known in the real estate market as a large scale land bank owner, is aggressively looking to develop 5 million square feet of commercial and residential properties over the next three years. Investment banking sources indicate that the Rs 800-crore debt is being raised primarily through public sector banks.
Century Group’s land bank is estimated to be valued at Rs 8,000 crore and the company is expected to add a further 2,000 acres going forward. According to industry sources, construction is under way for 3 million square feet of commercial and residential properties and development of an additional 2 million square feet is expected to be finalised shortly.
In the while, the group is all set to launch its value housing project across 8 acres in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar just off on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. The company is aiming to build a total of 800 flats of 2 and 3 bedrooms in the Rs 25-30 lakh range in this Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) jurisdiction area. For starter, Century is set to launch two towers of 200 apartments, which is expected to completed in two years.
