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Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard
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Mumbai, 15 April 2016<\/i><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"..\/images\/viviana-mall.jpg\")
After a long gap, global investors are buying large retail properties for big bucks.
While\ninvestors are buying them to build their portfolios, global retailers\nare acquiring properties to enter markets such as Mumbai.
A\nmonth after Singapore government-owned $100-billion sovereign fund GIC\nbought 50 per cent stake in Viviana Mall in Thane, on the outskirts of\nMumbai, for over Rs 1,000 crore, US-based private equity (PE) firm\nBlackstone bought a one-million-square-feet mall being developed by\nL&T Realty in the Seawoods area of Navi Mumbai, said a source.
The\ndeal is expected to be closed between Rs 1,200 crore and Rs 1,500\ncrore. Blackstone and L&T Realty executives could not be contacted\nfor comments.
Late last year, Blackstone acquired two retail\nassets of Gurgaon-based developer Alpha G in Amritsar and Ahmedabad for\naround Rs 800 crore.
“Many global investors are looking to buy\ngood mall properties. It will help them build portfolios in the country\nand help mall developers consolidate their projects,” said Susil\nDungarwal, founder of Beyond Squarefeet Advisory, a mall management\ncompany.
Recently, DLF, the country’s largest developer, said it\nhad sold its shopping mall in Saket in Delhi to its subsidiary for Rs\n904 crore as part of its strategy to consolidate and monetise non-core\nassets.
Even big retail chains are not behind.
Swedish\nfurniture firm IKEA is in talks to buy 350,000 square feet (sq ft) in\nOberoi Realty in Borivali area of Mumbai for over Rs 900 crore, reports\nsaid on Friday.
Recently, IKEA signed up for a 26-acre land parcel in Navi Mumbai’s Turbhe area for Rs 214 crore from Tata group firm Rallis.
IKEA\nis the first retailer to enter the country after 100 per cent foreign\ndirect investment (FDI) was allowed in single-brand retailing. The\ncompany is planning to invest Rs 10,500 crore in real estate to set up\n25 stores in Mumbai, National Capital Region, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.
Last year, it had bought 14-acre land parcel in Hyderabad.
Global\nbuyers roll back into property Phonemaker Apple is said to be in talks\nto take 30,000 sq ft retail space at plush property Maker Maxity, in\nBandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The company is expected to set up\none of its flagship stores in the property.
The rents in the complex hover around Rs 320 to Rs 350 per sq ft, one of the highest in Mumbai.
An email to Apple did not get any response.
On\nTuesday, The Times of India reported that Spanish retailer Zara had\ntaken 50,000 sq ft of space in Hutatma Chowk in South Mumbai for Rs 2.5\ncrore rent.
Its rival H&M is aggressively opening stores. It\nopened 37,000 sq ft store in Mall of India in Noida recently after\nopening a store in Ambience Mall, Gurgaon.
It plans to open two stores in Mumbai in autumn.
“We\nsee great potential for expansion and growth, both in metros as well as\nTier-II and -III cities in India. Our expansion strategy is to always\nopen at the best business location, and we look at many different\noptions at the same time. The best business location is so important we\nwould rather hold off from opening a new store and wait till the right\nlocation becomes available,” an H&M spokesperson told the Business\nStandard recently.
“Retailers\nsuch as Zara are not just anchors, they can be destination stores.\nCertainly IKEA is a full-day destination store. A larger store allows\nthem to have a more comprehensive product mix and aims for a much\nlarger share of the customer’s wallet than they would otherwise. Also,\nlarger spaces would cost less per square foot, in terms of rental and\noperating costs,” said Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of Third\nEyesight, a retail consultancy.<\/span>
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