Embassy Group and Ivanhoe Cambridge Launch a Commercial Real Estate Investment and Development Platform Across India and Close First Flagship Project in Bengaluru

 

•  The platform will fund acquisition and development of sustainable office led business parks in key urban centres of India.

•  The platform will invest in sustainable business park campuses, aided by deep & quality talent pool, fuelling India’s growth as an innovation hub.

•  The platform will have investment capacity of US$ 500M from the two partners.

•  Embassy East Business Park to be the first flagship project of the platform; project spans 1.3 Million Sq. ft. across 9 acres and is located at Whitefield, Bengaluru. 

Embassy Group, a leading Indian real estate player, and Ivanhoé Cambridge, a global real estate industry leader and subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, announced their partnership to launch an investment platform focused on office business parks in campus based and mixed use environments in India. The Embassy Group will lead all real estate development, project management, leasing and operations, while Ivanhoé Cambridge will leverage their expertise in investment.
 
The platform will invest in develop-to-core and acquisition of partially developed business park opportunities to cater to the preferences of the millennial workforce in providing flexible workplaces and building sustainable communities across key Indian urban centres. The platform will have an investment capacity of US$ 500M with Ivanhoé Cambridge and Embassy investing in an 80:20 ratio, with an initial focus on the Southern Indian markets of Bengaluru & Chennai. The concept aims at meeting the demand in the expansion of Global Capability Centres and Research and Development Campuses.
 
The seed asset for the platform will be the first phase of the 60-acre Embassy East Business Park located in Whitefield Main Road in Bengaluru. The first phase will be developed on a land parcel of 9 acres, with a gross leasable area of 1.3 Million Sq. ft. The upcoming Business Park boasts of a mixed-use community offering co-living, essential retail and amenities which will create a vibrant ‘work-live-play’ experience for the occupiers. With its prominent location in the growth corridor on the ITPL Main Road, the Business Park will have a direct commuter access to the upcoming ITPL metro station, connecting the park seamlessly to Bangalore’s CBD and will be complemented by accessibility to social infrastructure including a renowned list of educational institutes, hospitals and hotels. The first phase of the project is expected to be ready for occupancy by early 2024.

“This new venture with Embassy will allow us to reinforce our presence in India, a key country in our diversification strategy in Asia,” commented Karim Habra, Head of Europe & Asia-pacific at Ivanhoé Cambridge. “Over the last couple of decades, several global corporations have acknowledged India as a scalable global innovation hub catalyzed by a deep, world-class talent pool. We anticipate this trend to accelerate thus supporting long term demand for sustainable, class A offices in mixed use campus environments,” he added.
 
Chanakya Chakravarti, Managing Director, India, at Ivanhoé Cambridge, explained “The healthy build-to-core economics, quality tenant covenants, deepening secondary markets and overall market formalization make for an interesting opportunity. We look forward to collaborating with Embassy, an experienced developer with a formidable execution track record across market cycles, in expanding our portfolio and supporting the continued institutionalization of the Indian RE sector.”
 
Speaking on the partnership with Ivanhoé Cambridge, Mr. Jitu Virwani, Chairman and Managing Director, Embassy Group, said, “This partnership of Embassy Group and Ivanhoé Cambridge is a strategic step towards transforming the commercial real estate landscape in India. Through the Embassy-Ivanhoe commercial office platform, we aspire to develop state-of-the-art business parks in India. We aim to continue delivering a differentiated and holistic workspace ecosystem by integrating concepts like co-living and co-working, expansive office spaces, and easy to access amenities. We are happy to launch the first phase of the Embassy East Business Park, to kick off this strategic alliance with Ivanhoe Cambridge and look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship.”

 

About Ivanhoé Cambridge

Ivanhoé Cambridge develops and invests in high-quality real estate properties, projects and companies that are shaping the urban fabric in dynamic cities around the world. It does so responsibly, with a view to generate long-term performance. Ivanhoé Cambridge is committed to creating living spaces that foster the well-being of people and communities, while reducing its environmental footprint.

Ivanhoé Cambridge invests internationally alongside strategic partners and major real estate funds that are leaders in their markets. Through subsidiaries and partnerships, the Company holds interests in more than 1,000 buildings, primarily in the industrial and logistics, office, residential and retail sectors. Ivanhoé Cambridge held C$64 billion in real estate assets as at December 31, 2019 and is a real estate subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (cdpq.com), one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers. For more information: www.ivanhoecambridge.com

About Embassy Group

Founded in 1993, Embassy Group is one India's largest real estate conglomerates with a broad portfolio of over 62 million Sq. Ft. of prime commercial, residential and industrial space in India. Across all asset classes, Embassy lays strong emphasis on high standards of quality, delivery, world class service environmental management and safety. Embassy has partnered with global investors including Blackstone and Warburg Pincus at the group and project levels. In many areas, Embassy has been a pioneer of new practices; Embassy was a sponsor of India's first REIT, the largest office REIT in the Asia Pacific. As an extension of its vision to create world class urban infrastructure, the company has also contributed in the field of education. The group's community outreach program empowers over 25,000 children across 189 schools to create a positive social impact in India.

Real Estate News Bureau

Fractional Ownership: The future of commercial real estate investment, says YieldAsset

Fractional investment, a recent trend that has gained acceptance in the real estate industry, is a new, safe and feasible way to pocket-friendly investment in office real estate.

Indians for long have invested their household savings in gold and real estate. You can't but agree more with Theodore Roosevelt: "Every person who invests in well-selected real estate in a growing section of a prosperous community, adopts the surest and safest method of becoming independent, for real estate is the basis of wealth." But, real estate investment for many urban households today is restricted to small plots of land or apartments. Residential apartment investments have not yielded well compared to investment in Grade-A office buildings due to lower rentals, in comparison to the commercial assets.

The Indian Grade-A Office real estate remained a preferred asset class for investors - even amidst 'Work From Home' adoption, owing to the asset's robust fundamentals and resilience. This segment has attracted equity investments to the tune of $15.4 billion in the last decade. The Indian market also saw two successful REIT listings of Embassy Office Parks and Mindspace REIT, totalling Rs 9,250 cr. In recent times, Blackstone and Brookfield also announced two biggest deals in the Indian real estate market, in the midst of the pandemic, amounting to around Rs 25,000 cr, acquiring office parks from Prestige and RMZ. Fractional investment, a recent trend that has gained acceptance in the real estate industry, is a new, safe and feasible way to pocket-friendly investment in office real estate. Several investors pool in their money, to buy Grade-A office property jointly. The assets are vetted legally and rigorous statutory and regulatory clearance checks are done, prior to offering them to such individuals investors for ownership. It works perfectly for investor's pocket and is expected to become a dominant investment trend in the market over the next 3-4 years in India. In advanced markets like the US, Singapore and Hong Kong, the concept has already seen significant traction.

The investors receive rental income in proportion to investments made in the property. Capital appreciation attained at the time of sale is also shared among the investors proportionately. The merit of fractional ownership is not just limited to owning an institutional-grade commercial real estate property but also:

•  Earning a steady, regular rental income which is usually 2-3 times more than rental from residential units.

•  Investment safety given the Grade-A quality of the underlying asset.

•  Improved liquidity as these units can be sold at any point of time on the resale platform, thus providing liquidity.

•  If invested for a considerable time, capital gains add unrivalled multiplier effect to overall returns.

Ownership of Grade-A commercial real estate which consists of office spaces, warehouses, factory etc requires substantial amount of capital, typically running into several billions of rupees! Hence, it has been the privy of the high net-worth individuals, family-offices and institutes. Fractional ownership in quality commercial asset class offers a great solution to someone looking for pocket-friendly investment, outside the volatility of share markets and low interest rates on fixed deposits. Hence fractional ownership will offer a whole new investment asset class to Indian households, who can own commercial property according to their budget. The fractional ownership concept is demolishing the monopoly of HNIs in commercial real estate investments.

By Riaz Maniyar, Co-founder, YieldAsset Real Estate Tech Pvt Ltd, a new age Proptech startup that enables fractional ownership of institutional grade Commercial Real Estate

https://www.yieldasset.com/

Real Estate News Bureau

Century Real Estate Sells Over 100 Plots in Ten Days at Century Greens

Over 65% inventory sold out in the second phase of the project during pre-launch

Century Real Estate, a leading developer and one of the largest landowners in South India, today announced the successful pre-launch of the Phase II of Century Greens, a premium plotted development in Bengaluru. While the Phase 1 of the project was sold out in just three months of its launch, Phase II witnessed an even greater reception with over 65% of the inventory being sold out in the first ten days.
 
With the onset of COVID-19, plotted developments have become a sought after choice for real estate investors and home-buyers alike due to factors such as land being an appreciating asset class and a growing demand for open spaces and low density projects. Moreover, buying a plot provides the liberty to the customer to construct a house tailored to their own taste and needs along with all the amenities typically available in a modern residential project. Several reports in the industry have also supported this trend.
 
Century Greens Phase I, launched in September 2018, has already witnessed a price appreciation of 35% reinforcing the fact that projects by Grade A developers that incorporate high build quality, self-sufficient ecosystems and provide a secure environment would continue to be the first choice for healthy appreciation.

With a focus on sustainable living, Century Greens is a 23 acre plotted development in the emergent micro-market of North Bengaluru. The specially curated unique green features of the project such as reflexology park, butterfly garden, organic plantations, pathways with plenty of green landscaping along with air pollution monitors and solar facilities provides families a fine balance of a natural retreat and multiple rejuvenation, fitness, socializing and leisure zones.
 
Century Greens comprises a state-of-the-art 10,000 sq. ft. clubhouse, located at the heart of the development that provides a grand experience of landscaped greens, indoor and outdoor amenities with easy access from every plot. From a lavish 250-seater party hall, gym, spa, convenience store, party lawns, indoor games area to swimming pool and kids’ pool, these amenities aim to provide an indulgent lifestyle.
 
The Northern Corridor in the Silicon Valley of India has experienced sensational growth and rapid infrastructural development which can be largely attributed to factors such as enhancement of physical, commercial and social infrastructure, smooth connectivity to prime locales in the city, and the proximity to IT growth corridors. This region has drawn the attention of investors, ever since Kempegowda International Airport became operational in 2008. Notably, Century Greens is just a 20 minutes’ drive to the Kempegowda International Airport.
 
Century Real Estate, a pioneer in the segment, has a plotted development portfolio comprising over 2.5 million sq ft of delivered and underway projects in both affordable and luxury segments. With over 3,000 acres of land bank and over 20 mn sq ft of residential and commercial assets under construction, the company represents more than $3 billion in asset value. Their development portfolio includes hotels, office spaces, residences, educational institutions and integrated townships.

 

Real Estate News Bureau

Dosti Realty Assists a Potential Buyers Dream of Owning a Home Through Its Own Mission Begin Again Campaign Offer

•  Benefit of additional discount of 0.5 % on online bookings•  Dosti Sales offices re-opened from 8th June 2020

Mission Begin Again Campaign Offer by Dosti Realty

Dosti Realty a well-known real estate brand which has delivered around 10 mn.sq.ft. across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region over the past 3 decades has now reopened their site offices and have a special “Mission Begin Again” Offer for potential homebuyers. 

While abiding by the rules and regulations laid down by the government under the Unlock 1.0, Dosti Realty has reopened its sales offices from 8th June 2020. Inspired by the mission to begin again, it now brings its own “Mission Begin Again” Offer with an aim to extend a line of security by building trust and confidence amongst potential homebuyers. This limited period offer which will end on 13th July 2020 encourages serious home buyers the chance to own their dream home and avail some additional benefits. Also promoting the use of digitization in home buying there is also an additional 0.5% discount being offered to customers who book online. This additional discount makes it even more enticing for homebuyers without the need for them to step out due to the availability of digital modes being made available by Dosti Realty.

In the project Dosti Belleza which is located in Parel in the heart of Mumbai, one can avail gold worth up to INR 12 Lakhs plus a no stamp duty and registration charges benefit when purchasing a spacious 2 BHK or 3 BHK home. This premium lifestyle address is specially crafted for those looking for a spacious home in the heart of the city with a host of amenities. The project is also bestowed with the benefit of excellent connectivity with well-established social and civic infrastructure right at its doorstep. 

Within the Thane (W) region, there are 2 projects that are part of this “Mission Begin Again” Offer namely Dosti West County located at Balkum and Dosti Desire – Dosti Pearl located Off Ghodbunder Road. 

Dosti West County inspires Modern Day County Living with 2 & 3 BHK apartments of varying sizes, so there is something for everyone as per their budget. The project offers large open spaces and amenities that include a Merlion Zone, kids play areas, cycling track and jogging path, Olympic size swimming pool, gymnasium, squash courts, badminton courts, chess, carrom, pool/snooker room as well as facilities like crèche/ toddlers play area, cafeteria and library and more. Here, potential homebuyers can avail a 2 Year Rental from date of Booking offer as well as a No Stamp Duty and Registration charges benefit. 

While in Dosti Desire – Dosti Pearl the offering includes a one-year rental from the date of booking coupled with no stamp duty and registration charges benefit for those that wish to purchase a 3 BHK Home. Dosti Desire - Dosti Pearl is a perfectly designed lifestyle with a grand clubhouse where the city's hustle-bustle meets the tranquillity of green spaces. There is also a 25 acre proposed Public Park by TMC just opposite Dosti Pearl. 

The final project under the “Mission Begin Again” Offer by Dosti Realty is for Dosti Planet North at Shil Thane which comprises 1 BHK, 2 BHK, and 3 BHK homes. Here homebuyers can avail a No Stamp duty benefit when they purchase an apartment. Dosti Planet North – Phase 1 is already home to 1100 + customers. The project includes a host of outdoor amenities spread across, a luxurious private clubhouse - Dosti Club Royale* adjacent to the project, and the presence of retail shops within the complex making it easier for residents to avail of their daily requirements. The Dosti Foundation ICSE School located adjacent to the Dosti Planet North also offers residents the option of availing an excellent education in a conducive environment.

Commenting on the campaign, Mr. Deepak Goradia- Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Dosti Realty, says, “Owning a home is not just about having a shelter for life; it's also the foundation of financial security and emotional well-being. Real estate is probably the only imperishable asset that brings you assured values even in fluctuating economic situations. There is no good or bad time to do it; it's always the right time. Keeping in mind the current situation, we wanted to aid serious home buyers in fulfilling their dream of owning a home, so we have additional benefits for this limited period. Also, we want to encourage the use of the digital medium and have therefore also added a 0.5% discount for any online booking. We have tried to ensure that all safety measures are implemented across our sites like social distancing, mandatory masks, temperature scans, frequent sanitization, etc with respect to our employees as well as for those families who wish to visit the property before making a booking. Our team will do their best to ensure that a potential home buyer will fulfill their dream of owning a home.”

Dosti West County - Dosti Oak project is registered with MahaRERA under registration No. P51700006565 & Dosti West County - Phase 2 - Dosti Cedar project is registered with MahaRERA under registration No. P51700015258 & Dosti West County - Phase 3 - Dosti Westwood project is registered with MahaRERA under registration No. P51700015501, Dosti Desire-Dosti Pearl project is registered with MahaRERA under registration No. P51700005623 Dosti Belleza project has been registered under MahaRERA Registration Number: P51900015989, Dosti Planet North - Phase 2 - Dosti Jade is registered with MahaRERA under the registration number: P51700018165, Dosti Planet North - Phase 3 - Dosti Onyx is registered with MahaRERA under the registration number: P51700020162 & Dosti Planet North - Phase 4 - Dosti Opal is registered with MahaRERA under the registration number: P51700021576 and are available on website https://maharerait.mahaonline.gov.in under registered projects. Please note that the sale/lease of all premises in these projects shall be governed by an agreement for sale/lease. T & C Apply.

About Dosti Realty
Dosti Realty has been in the real estate business for over 3 decades and delivered more than 117 properties till date, providing homes to over 8,600+ families for over 42,700 residents. Encompassing a portfolio of having delivered 10 mn. sq. ft. and currently constructing 6 mn. sq. ft. across Mumbai and Thane, the company has experience in various development types, be it Residential, Retail, IT Parks, etc. Over the years, it has been known for Aesthetics, Innovation, Quality, Timely Delivery, Trust and Transparency, values that have built lasting relationships. 

Real Estate News Bureau

MyGate Launches Lifetime Free Plan to Help Housing Societies Cope With Post-Lockdown Realities

Available pan-India, the new offering will enable societies to go completely digital in two hours

MyGate, India’s leading community management solution, has launched a lifetime free plan to enable housing societies to go digital, in an attempt to help them manage their premises in a safe and secure manner. The plan is being made available free of charge and can be implemented for any housing society in India within two hours. The MyGate platform is currently in use at 1.6 million homes across 7500+ societies in the country.
 
Abhishek Kumar, COO  & Co-founder, MyGate, says, “Ever since the pandemic hit India, MyGate has been relentless in its attempts to assist its client base with new features and partnerships. This has significantly eased life in the lockdown for our communities and we believe that it will remain so for a long time to come. We are now looking to pass on the benefits of what we have created to all housing societies anywhere in India and are glad to be able to do it absolutely free of cost.”

The MyGate app helps go contactless by minimising the need for in-person interactions. Its features include a comprehensive module for financial management, ensuring accounting and payments are completely online; a range of digital communication tools, including forums, opinion polls, meeting invites and a resident directory, to make interactions contactless; a module for management of society complaints.
 
MyGate has also inked a number of exclusive partnerships with players across categories to deliver benefits to housing society residents. It has tied up with companies such as ITC Limited, Grofers, Box8 and StoreSe for preferential delivery and special discounts on retail products; its app also hosts several major newspapers and magazines, including Deccan Chronicle, The Daily Guardian, Dainik Jagran, Outlook and Mid-Day. MyGate has also tied up with MedLife and mfine for discounted delivery of medicines, lab tests and medical consultations to the home.
 
Many of these features and partnerships were built for lockdown but will remain extremely relevant in the post-COVID world as well. The company is not only committed to offering these features after the lockdown but confirms that they will remain free. Furthermore, as it can be deployed remotely, MyGate is seeing tremendous interest from societies in tier-2 and -3 cities, making the company a pan-India player.
 
Nibir Dasgupta, Ruchira Residency, Kolkata, says, “We are glad to have a strong partner like MyGate on our side during these challenging times. The express delivery programme with Grofers has been a huge help, at a time when getting orders delivered has been so difficult. Our residents are also happy to receive copies of major dailies within the MyGate App.”
 
Since its launch in 2016, MyGate has been building technology to enhance security and convenience for residents in gated premises. It now has over 1.6 million homes on its platform across 7500 societies and has tie-ups with every major developer in the country. It was named one of India’s most innovative start-ups by Inc 42 in 2018 and one of India’s coolest start-ups by Business Today in 2019. MyGate was founded by Vijay Arisetty, an ex- IAF pilot (Shaurya Chakra awardee), Abhishek K, former VP at Goldman Sachs, and Shreyans Daga, former project head at Oracle and Digit. For more information, please see http://www.mygate.com/


Real Estate News Bureau

India’s forthcoming DIY-Marketing Platform ‘InstaaPR’ announces Knowledge Sessions to decode Opportunities in the New Era

Business Leaders collaborate to boost the Start-ups, MSMEs and Entrepreneurs community.

InstaaPR, India’s forthcoming, no-touch, DIY-cost-effective marketing platform is organising an informative webinar on “How to redefine your sales strategies for the new era”. The webinar is intended to support small and medium enterprises to cope with the pandemic struck economy and keep the business cycles going. 

COVID-19 has altered the way companies operate, employees work & interact with customers and the external world. Moreover, the sales and marketing functions have also come to a standstill. The webinar will focus on these two areas as enterprises were impelled to explore effective ways of continuing their operations.

Taking the lead on this webinar, Sanjay Kher, President & Chief Business Officer, Oceanic Consulting will augment the sales and marketing processes to boost sales in these trying times. 

Moderating the session will be Rachana Chowdhary, CEO, InstaaPR, who will help deep dive the discussions through and help demystify information for immediate business use. “InstaaPR Webinars aims to deliberate upon the very basics of business and life, ground realities. We aim to make our participants feel enlightened and empowered after every session. We have observed that information overload and complex business processes as a way of the busy corporate infrastructure, is often restricting people’s thinking skills and creativity. We aim to deliberate upon the very basics with our participants, to thrive in the new normal.”

Sanjay Kher, President & Chief Business Officer, Oceanic Consulting says, “Times are tough, and businesses are struggling with finding the new normal in sales and marketing departments. With companies losing business, it's the right time to adopt an aggressive sales and marketing strategy and rebuild confidence in business.”

“In this webinar, we will not only discuss expert strategies to boost sales but also decode, some of them immediately available opportunities for the MSMEs, Start-ups, SMEs to benefit.”

Finding alternative sales strategies is of paramount importance in these trying times. Enterprises should think lateral and reinvest their resources in curating new sales and marketing tactics. This also is a great time to engage with existing clients and be truly invested in their success.

The webinar session is scheduled for May 21st, 2020 Thursday from 12 PM to 1 PM. 

Click here to Register now

To learn more about the partnerships, alliances with InstaaPR – DIY Marketing Platform, please write to support@instaapr.live

About Oceanic Consulting Group

Oceanic Consulting Group is a boutique consulting firm offering offer sales, marketing & growth advisory to SMEs & startup’s.  It offers advisory from a Single-Attribute Improvement to a 360-Degree Analysis of firm’s Sales & Business Performance". www.oceanic-group.net

About InstaaPR

InstaaPR is a premium automated digital & social news publishing platform, where we revolutionize the way PR functions. We provide you with an effective and efficient online reach to increase your online presence. www.instaapr.live

All about joint ownership of a property

The notion of joint ownership of property is picking up traction off late in the country with both the government and loan providers offering numerous incentives in a joint purchase of the property. The tax deductions applicable in availing a joint home loan are also making it an attractive bet for home seekers.

In this article,  we will zero in on some important points for buyers to reap the maximum benefits of a joint property purchase-:

Home loan
It is important to understand that when applying for a home loan regarding a joint property both the buyers have to apply for the loan. Things tend to get a bit hazy as the loan is likely to be rejected if one of the owners fails to meet the benchmarks set by the bank to avail the loan, like a low CIBIL score. Also if the other owner falls into the category of a blood relative like mother and son, it is vital to go through the eligibility norms and procedures for availing a joint home loan.

Tax benefits
As per the norms of the income-tax act, a maximum tax deduction of INR 1.5 lakh on the principal amount and INR 2 lakh deduction on interest, is available for each of the owners in a joint property home loan. Also if a family is solely dependent on a single earning individual, then it is advisable to refrain from a joint property purchase and go with single ownership of the property.

Avoid a co-owner without a regular income
Bearing the burden of a home loan for a non-earning wife will prove to be a nightmare for her, in case you meet with any unforeseen circumstances. It can also attract a lot of legal implications for the spouse or any other non earning co-owner.

Home loan protection scheme
It is important to understand that while both the co-owners may avail the home loan protection plan, the insurance authority will only pay for the loan amount of the departed and not for the entire loan. Term insurance comes as a better option in this regard and should be availed according to the proportion of the ownership of the property.


While joint ownership of a property does include certain benefits, it is also a complex transaction with numerous hidden clauses. It is advisable for the buyers to go for a joint property purchase only after evaluating the monetary benefits in detail which they will fetch from the purchase.