Indiareit Fund invests Rs 225 cr in Skyline

PRIVATE EQUITY WATCH

Skyline Constructions and Housing, a Bangalore-based property developer, has received Rs 225 crore investment from Indiareit Fund Advisors, a real estate venture capital fund, to develop real estate projects in Bangalore and Mysore.

Skyline is a Rs 100-crore company and the fresh investment will be used for its ensuing projects worth Rs 450 crore. According to the company, the projects after completion will have a sale value of Rs 700 crore at the current rates.

Indiareit Fund is a $300-million fund promoted by Piramal Enterprises with 3i being a major investor.

The fund has so far invested Rs 1,000 crore and with the investment in Skyline, the fund has committed its total corpus.

According to Ramesh Jogani, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), Indiareit Fund Advisors, the company is in the process of raising the second fund with a corpus of Rs 700 crore.

"We have already got commitments for Rs 350 crore and expect to raise the balance in a month's time," he added.

According to Avinash Prabhu, MD, Skyline Constructions, "The investment from Indiareit Fund will be utilised to develop 16 medium- and high-end residential projects in Bangalore, and one project in Mysore. Indiareit is also ready to support Skyline's future expansions in other southern cities."

"These projects are spread over 3.5 million sq ft and comprise about 2,300 residential units with timelines of 36-48 months across high-yield residential areas such as Whitefield, Kanakapura Road, Bannerghatta Road, Old Madras Road," Prabhu added.

Skyline is also targeting 25 million sq ft in Kochi, Mangalore, Chennai and Mysore.

"Bangalore remains a veritable investment destination for us and Skyline Constructions is our second investment here, which is our gateway to south Indian cities. We have already made an investment of Rs 52 crore in projects of Srinivasa Shipping and Property Development (SSPDL) at Devanahalli," said Jogani.

Indiareit Fund has earlier invested in companies such as Amsri Builders' in Hyderabad, Neptune in Mumbai and Sunteck Group at Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Besides, it has also invested in ITeS SEZ project developed by Paranjape Schemes in Pune.