Bengaluru’s Puravankara re-enters Mumbai housing market

Bengaluru-based Puravankara Ltd has purchased a two-acre plot at Chembur in suburban Mumbai for ?147 crore, two people familiar with the development said, marking the property developer’s return to the financial capital that it left over three decades ago. According to the people cited above, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Puravankara purchased the land from Food and Inn Ltd, a food exports company, to develop a residential project. The project, with development potential of 3.5 million sq. ft, is estimated to cost around ?500 crore. Construction is likely to start in five to six months, the people cited above said. Property adviser JLL India was the transaction adviser to the deal. “The land sale is part of Food and Inn’s plan to exit non-core assets,” said one of the two people cited above. Chembur has emerged as a new residential hot spot thanks to connectivity with prime locations in Mumbai city. The suburb saw its last major land deal in January 2017, when PepsiCo sold its 2.3-acre Duke’s plant to real estate firm Wadhwa group for ?167 crore. The Kapoor family, owners of the iconic R.K. Studio set up by legendary Bollywood actor Raj Kapoor, has also put up the property for sale. Founded in 1975, Puravankara built residential projects at Versova, Yari Road, Malad and Chembur near Mumbai until the late 1980s, before shifting base to Bengaluru in 1986. According to a third person who also spoke on condition of anonymity, Mumbai is one of the seven cities, including Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune, that Puravankara plans to focus on as part of its new growth strategy. In the last two years, Puravankara has made tentative efforts to re-enter Mumbai, signing joint development deals at Mulund, Bhandup and Goregaon in the suburbs. However, all these projects are still awaiting regulatory approvals, this person added.