Business conglomerate Max Group has forayed into commercial real estate with an investment of Rs 600 crore to develop a prime office building in Noida comprising 6 lakh sq ft area as part of its strategy to create a large portfolio of rental assets.
Max Group, which has a commanding presence in life insurance, health and allied businesses as well as packaging sectors, is developing a 'Grade A' office complex 'Max Tower' spread over nearly one acre of land located on Delhi-Noida border.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year and hence, the company has started leasing space in this building that commands over Rs 100 per sq ft rent.
The group's listed entity Max Ventures and Industries Ltd (MaxVIL) has formed a separate subsidiary Max Estates Ltd to undertake real estate projects. A residential project at Dehradun comprising 22 super luxury villas with a price tag of Rs 4.5 crore each has already been completed.
"We have two large upcoming commercial real estate projects in Delhi-NCR, especially focussed on providing workspaces that cater to the evolving needs of the modern workforce," MaxVIL's MD and CEO Sahil Vachani told PTI.
The first project Max Tower, which will be a LEED platinum certified building, is expected to be operational by December this year.
"We hope Max Towers will start establishing Noida as a viable corporate office destination, where most companies till now preferred South-Central Delhi or Gurgaon to seat their senior management," he added.
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The company also has plans to re-develop a commercial project at Okhla in the national capital.
Going forward, Max Estates would focus on owning a large portfolio of annuity based real estate projects. It aims to become a specialised office space player as the development of Noida project has helped company in acquiring the whole range of capabilities in commercial real estate like land sourcing, design, construction and leasing.
"Employers are increasingly paying more and more attention to the softer aspects of workplace standards, such as focus on wellness, co-working, healthy work-life balance, etc. We think there's a significant demand-supply gap in this area in India and Max can carve a strong niche for itself by bridging this gap," Vachani said.
Elaborating on the Noida project, Max Estates' COO Arjunjit Singh said the company, which acquired this project from real estate firm The 3C Company few years back, is developing a prime office building in Noida with an investment of about Rs 600 crore. The project cost has been funded through mix of internal accruals and debt.
Singh said the company has roped in property consultants to give on lease large spaces in this building. "The negotiations with potential customers are at an advance stage," he added.
The structure of this project has been constructed by L&T, while Gensler, UK was the principal architect.
"About 70,000 sq ft area has been provided for food and beverages and other amenities in this building like swimming pool, library bar and a 150-seater auditorium that will host some of the best cultural events in town," Singh said.
The occupants will benefit from Max Group's vast experience in healthcare with the provision of best-in-class wellness services including chiropractic services focusing on diet, lifestyle coaching, ergonomics coaching, postural assessment and injury prevention.
The Max Group, which comprises three holding companies -- Max Financial Services, Max India and MaxVIL -- had recorded consolidated revenues of Rs 16,798 crore in 2016-17 fiscal. It has a total customer base of 9 million, nearly 240 offices spread across India and people strength of 22,500 as on March 31, 2017.
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