Beleaguered UK-based lender Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sold an apartment in Worli for Rs 37.25 crore, making it the most expensive residential property transaction in the city.
The sea-facing apartment is in Samudra Mahal, a building in Worli. The sale of the 3,500-square feet flat values the property at Rs 1.08 lakh per square foot. DTZ was the property consultant.
A source at RBS said the bank decided to sell the property, as it was lying vacant for a while. “It was sold purely for commercial reasons.”
The deal by RBS tops the Rs 34-crore deal that an unnamed NRI businessman paid for a four-bedroom property at NCPA at Nariman Point. However, that transaction was completed in 2007 at the height of the boom in premium property prices. In 2008, a Hindi film actor paid Rs 31 crore for an apartment in Malabar Hill.
The real estate market has revived in recent weeks, with large value commercial property making a comeback. The Worli apartment is not the only piece of real estate that RBS has put on the block in India, sources close to the development said. Foreign banks such as Citi sold residential properties in 2008 and 2009, citing changes in the compensation package as the reason for the sale.
According to British newspaper reports, RBS has put up one of its properties in London, a landmark five-star hotel, up for sale. The Grosvenor House hotel, operated by JW Marriott hotels and Resorts, could be one of the most expensive hotels ever to come to the market in Europe, newspaper reports said.
RBS, 84 per cent owned by the UK government, is looking to raise much-needed funds by shedding non-core assets.
Globally, it has divided its businesses into two core categories — core and non-core. On the consumer banking front, the lender said it planned to focus on its home market of UK and designated its retail and SME business in India as non-core.
