Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (Brookfield India REIT) and NCW Asset Management’s Prime Offices Fund have agreed to acquire a 264,000-square-foot Grade-A office asset in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for $178 million (Rs 1,700 crore), the companies said in a statement.
The institutional-quality office space, located in G Block of BKC and comprising three contiguous office floors, will be acquired from a Brookfield private real estate fund through an equal partnership between Brookfield India REIT and Prime Offices Fund.
The building is leased to tenants across financial services, real estate and technology. Brookfield will continue to oversee and manage the property.
“The institutional-quality office space in BKC is positioned in one of India’s most established commercial markets and offers a differentiated combination of a quality tenant base, strong occupier demand, connectivity and sustained rental growth, which is difficult to replicate,” said Shashank Jain, chief executive officer and managing director of Brookfield India REIT.
The acquisition will diversify Brookfield India REIT’s portfolio and deepen its presence in Mumbai, Jain added.
"This acquisition marks an important milestone in our portfolio strategy, providing us with a foothold in Mumbai through BKC, India’s leading front office market,” said Gaurav Puri, chief investment officer at NCW. “BKC’s sustained growth and resilient occupier demand make it a strategically important micro-market and a natural fit for our investment strategy.”
Mumbai-listed Brookfield India REIT, sponsored by global alternative asset manager Brookfield, manages 11 Grade-A assets across key gateway markets including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Gurugram, Noida, and Kolkata. Its portfolio comprises 37.2 million sq ft of total leasable area, including 32.6 million sq ft of operating area, 0.6 million sq ft under construction, and 4 million sq ft of future development potential.
In March this year, Brookfield India REIT roped in Mumbai-based 360 ONE to invest in Arliga Ecoworld Business Parks Pvt Ltd. The REIT had acquired Ecoworld from its sponsor in November last year for about $1.5 billion.
Brookfield India REIT also recently saw a change in leadership, with Alok Aggarwal stepping down as CEO and Jain taking over the role.
NCW Asset Management, a 50:50 joint venture between Nuvama Asset Management (the alternatives-focussed arm of Nuvama Wealth Management) and global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, recently marked the final close of its Prime Offices fund at Rs 4,000 crore.
The fund targets prime commercial office assets across key high-growth micro-markets in India and currently has a portfolio spanning 4 million sq ft of leasable area across cities.
