Fractional Ownership Platform hBits Raises Rs 20 Crore

BY Realty+

Fractional Real-Estate ownership platform hBits has raised about Rs 20 crore in an angel round of funding from venture capital funds and marquee investors, including IIFL Chairman Nirmal Jain, Snow Leopard Ventures, and Incred Capital. 

Jungle Ventures former MD Jayesh Parekh and Nomura Services’ former MD Awdhesh Krishna also invested in the company through this fundraising.

The property technology company is planning to scale up various activities, including activities including land acquisition of new assets under management, customer acquisition and expansion of the business to newer cities.

It is also looking to strengthen the technology to bring more transparency to information sharing and to increase the ease and security of transactions. 

“We are excited to partner with Shiv and the team at hBits. The company’s razor sharp focus over the past few years has led to an impressive track record, sound economics and necessary technology infrastructure to accelerate the building momentum. We see tremendous opportunity ahead and look forward to seeing hBits delight many more customers,” said Chris Kolenaty, Founder of Snow Leapord Ventures.

hBits offer fractional ownership to investors in grade A commercial properties by using machine learning to gather historical sales and rental data which is available on this platform for general access. 

“Fractional ownership is gaining momentum with new players joining the brand. The market is becoming competitive and exciting for everyone,” said hBits Founder Shiv Parekh.” Investors are taking up opportunities in a day for Grade A assets. With RBI raising interest rates and other form of investments losing sheen, a fractional ownership will result in further impetus to investing in real estate assets.”

He said considering inflation at around 7% and volatile stock markets, a return of 8-10% through fractional ownership of grade A assets are encouraging for investors and that investors in this segment will outnumber the properties available for investments.

“Technology-led platforms like us are making the entire process of investment and fractional ownership simpler than ever before. It is a perfect entry point for new investors as it offers uniquely safe and secure investment options with long-term income and confirmed monthly cash flow in an otherwise high-risk market, said Samir Bhandari, CFO, hBits.

The company is using blockchain technology to make all transactions paperless. All the contracts are digitally signed and investors can buy and sell transactions themselves through its platform thereby reducing the need for intermediaries.

hBits currently has assets under management of Rs 150 crore through eight assets. It is planning to bring in 40 new grade A properties, aiming to increase the assets under management to Rs 1,000 crore in a year.

The company is looking at expanding its presence in India’s top six cities by the end of next year. Currently the platform has about 35,000 investors, mostly senior management officials in multinational companies. At present, hBits has 1,50,000 sq ft area under management across eight assets in Mumbai. These assets have a lease of 5-7 years with all its key tenants such as ICICI Bank, IIFLATPI, Ingenico Group, and Vivantee Business Solutions. Started in 2019, the company exited its first asset, a prime office space with an internal ROI of about 17%.

Tags : Fractional Real-Estate ownership platform IIFL Chairman Nirmal Jain Snow Leopard Ventures Incred Capital Jungle Ventures Former MD Jayesh Parekh Nomura Services Former MD Awdhesh Krishna Chris Kolenaty Founder Snow Leapord Ventures Samir Bhandari CFO hBits Shiv Parekh Founder hBits