Yatra Capital, the Euronext-listed company focused on real estate investments in India, plans to invest up to Rs 115 crore (Euro 20 million) in two deals in the domestic realty market in 2010 after a hiatus of one year, according to Christopher Wright, chairman and a co-founder, Yatra Capital. The company has invested about Rs 916 crore (Euro 161 million) in 13 projects including two entity-level deals.
Covering 27 million sq ft spread of space in nine cities, the weighted average Yatra equity holding in these projects stands at 34% and it has sold or pre-let over 3 million sq. ft. across various projects.
Christopher Wright, chairman and a co-founder, Yatra Capital, told VCCircle, "In India, one needs to be very careful on real estate investments as the market is volatile. After a drop in 2008-09, the realty sector is now moving up. The Indian economy is growing well making people more confident on future investments. We have invested 44% in residential projects, which would be our focus area in future. We always look at investing in affordable residential projects in tier I and II cities.”
Yatra, which is managed by Saffron Capital Advisors, an Indian real estate private equity fund, has major investments in Pune (residential project-Rs 90 crore), Market City Retail-Rs 97 crore), Bangalore (Market City-Rs 160 crore), Kolkata (Riverbank Holdings-Rs 115 crore, Forum IT Parks-Rs 91 crore, Taj Gateway-Rs 23 crore) and Nashik City Centre (Rs 57 crore). It has partnered with Phoenix Mills for 5 various projects across Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore. Yatra which has raised a Rs 1254 crore (220 million euro) invests through its wholly owned subsidiary K2 Property Limited, a fund registered in Mauritius.
Apart from the Nashik shopping centre which is already operational, the shopping centres at Pune and Indore along with the Taj Hotel in Kolkata are in advanced stages and are expected to be operational within the next 12-15 months, he added.
A Yatra Capital presentation to investors in March 2010, said, “Most markets have seen positive traction due to price cuts. However, developers have now started raising prices especially in Mumbai and the National Capital Region which has led to a slowdown in sales. Projects where pricing is realistic continue to enjoy healthy absorptions. The monetary environment tightening may impact the fund raising environment for many real estate companies still out to raise money. Investor enthusiasm for participation in realty IPOs remains muted.”
According to VCCEdge data, about 86 deals worth $3.8 billion have taken place in the real estate sector in India since 2005.
