Edited: Jennifer Brenner
Source: Red Fort Capital
Red Fort Capital, a private equity real estate firm focused on India, recently announced that its marquee Delhi residential project – Parsvnath's La Tropicana – is 80% sold out. Red Fort invested $25 million into the project as a preferred return equity financing in mid-2009. Due to such high sales volume over the past six months, Red Fort's investment and return are currently well supported by booked receivables.
Encompassing 17 acres in the high-end Civil Lines neighborhood of New Delhi, Parsvnath's La Tropicana is a premium residential development with over 500 condominiums exceeding two million square feet of built-up space. The project is one of the few FDI-compliant residential communities in New Delhi with all approvals in place.
In mid-2009, during the global credit crisis, Red Fort closed the transaction within 21 days in order to meet the funding requirements of the project. Mr. Subhash Bedi, managing director of Red Fort Capital, notes that "Our unique ability to provide speed capital was critical for this transaction, as we enabled our developer partner to meet a pressing project completion timeline."
According to Parsvnath's Chairman Mr. Pradeep Jain, "Not only was Red Fort one of the few investors active in the market at the time, but they were also the only investor who could close in a timely fashion. We are highly pleased they have shown confidence in our group, and also increased their stake in a subsequent round of funding."
Following Red Fort's entry, construction immediately commenced and foundation and slab work is currently underway. As a result, over $40 million of inventory was sold within four months due to increased buyer confidence in the project. Today, 80% of the inventory has been sold with a 67% end-user price increase recorded in less than six months.
Mr. Jain confirms that "As a result of Red Fort's involvement, we have been able to expedite construction timeframes, streamline systems and processes, improve product quality and thereby increase sales well beyond our initial expectations."
Mr. Bedi states that "Based on the project's success, and our attractive position in the capital stack, today our investment is secured."
Mr. Parry Singh, managing director of Red Fort Capital, concludes that "Given our success with La Tropicana, Red Fort will continue to provide speed capital for high quality projects in India that may have either liquidity constraints or immediate financing requirements."
