Godrej Fund Management (GFM), the Godrej group's real estate private equity arm, said on Wednesday that it had raised USD 500 million (Rs 3,800 crore) to develop premium office properties.
GBTC II, the company's USD 500 million office development fund, has reached its final close.
"GFM will develop grade-A office assets valued in excess of USD 1.5 billion (Rs 11,000 crore) on completion, and the total value of the assets, including those from previous funds, will bring the portfolio value on completion to more than USD 3 billion (Rs 22,000 crore)," according to a company statement.
GFM has invested all of the previously raised cash through GBTC I and Godrej Office Fund I.
The private equity company has joined with APG Asset Management N.V. (APG) and Allianz Real Estate (Allianz) once again to develop office
towers in key locations across India's top office markets.
Under this fund, it has already invested in one development asset in Bangalore with a development potential of 1.1 million square feet.
GFM has now successfully raised three office-focused funds and five overall funds with the final closure.
Godrej Fund Management's Managing Director and CEO, Karan Bolaria, stated that the business has "strong belief in investing in and constructing premium office buildings in key locations throughout our core markets to responsibly deliver the highest risk adjusted returns for our partners."
The India office sector has been robust during the COVID-19 epidemic, according to Rushabh Desai, Asia-Pacific CEO of Allianz Real Estate.
"We continue to trust in the Indian economy's long-term fundamentals, which are underpinned by robust demographic trends and rising occupier demand.
Our initial endeavour with Godrej has gone well, and we are looking forward to expanding our collaboration with them "He stated.
The international Grade A office market in India, according to Graeme Torre, Managing Director of APG Asset Management Asia, is a strategic focus for the firm's portfolio in the area.
GFM is the Godrej Group's real estate private equity arm and a fully owned subsidiary of Godrej Investment Advisers Private Limited.
It oversees more than USD 1.6 billion in capital across five vehicles.