Certus Capital, an institutional real estate investment and advisory firm, has invested Rs 80 crore in a premium residential project being developed by Techno Group, Fortune Realty and Gala in Mumbai’s Worli locality.
The project Aakasa, located in the proximity of the upcoming Ritz Carlton Hotel, is estimated to have revenue potential of over Rs 350 crore based on the ongoing property rates in the vicinity.
The proposed development has already secured all major approvals including from the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA).
Certus Capital’s investment will be utilised towards financing the construction of the project. With this transaction, the realty investment firm has invested over Rs 100 crore in this micro-market over the last six months.
“Real estate credit is our highest conviction theme now driven by the robust rebound in the residential sector and lack of capital availability. In general, there is a desperate need to deepen our bond markets, given today 98% of bond market participation is only in AAA and AA bonds,” said Ashish Khandelia, founder, Certus Capital and Earnnest.me.
As India moves towards a $5 trillion economy, Khandelia believes it will be imperative to democratise the credit access across the spectrum
The transaction was advised by Sushant Vaishnav, partner at Siya Capital, a real estate-focused investment banking firm.
Certus together with its team typically holds 5-10% while individuals, HNIs, family offices and financial institutions participate in the balance by co-investing through its secured fixed income investment platform, Earnnest.me.
So far, more than 300 investors, with 50% repeat rate, have invested in various secured credit opportunities through Earnnest.me. In 2022-23, the cash-on-cash returned on investments available through the company’s platform stood at over 15%.
The company targets over Rs 500 crore worth of real estate investment deals in a year. Over the last three years, the Certus team reviewed real estate debt portfolios aggregating to more than Rs 43,000 crore lying with various housing finance companies, non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), and developers to create liquidity solutions.
