Godrej Properties has transferred its majority stake in an upcoming project in Gurgaon to its residential property development platform formed two years ago with a string of foreign institutional investors led by Dutch pension services provider APG, as per a stock market disclosure.
The firm has moved its 74.9 per cent stake in subsidiary Wonder City Buildcon Private Limited (WCBPL) for a project in Sector 79, Gurgaon to Shubh Properties Cooperatief U.A, for an undisclosed amount.
Shubh Properties was created as part of the two-year-old deal when Godrej Properties secured commitments of Rs 770 crore ($138 million then) from a group of foreign investors, led by APG and also including asset management firm Sparinvest Property Investors, for a residential property development platform. The foreign investors had picked 71 per cent stake in the joint venture while Godrej Properties owns the rest.
The platform focuses on developing mid-income residential properties in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bangalore besides looking at opportunities in Pune and Chennai. Godrej Properties is the exclusive developer of the projects and also gets development management fee.
This initiative is separate from Godrej Properties’ previous asset-light strategy. Unlike a realty company that buys land and then develops it, Godrej Properties forms joint ventures with landowners to develop a piece of land. This allows it to develop properties without committing a large capital to buy land parcel and thereby, keeps its debt level in control.
The new platform enables the company to capture outright land purchase transactions.
Last year it had transferred 49 per cent stake in its project at Sahakar Nagar II in Chembur, Mumbai and 74.9 per cent stake in its project in Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1 in Delhi to the same platform.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
