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Certus Capital, an institutional real estate investment firm founded by former KKR director Ashish Khandelia, has invested Rs.125 crore in an upcoming residential project in Chennai for its secure bonds platform, Earnnest.me.
The project is situated in a very prime locality in Chennai and will be developed by Casagrand, one of the largest South India based real estate developer. Founded by Mr. Arun MN about 19 years ago, Casagrand has delivered more than 19 million sq. ft. across 100+ projects in cities such as Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore. Casagrand sold about 5.8 million sq. ft. in FY23, making it fifth highest among the listed real estate players in India. The investment, in the form of secured debentures, offers 15% fixed return (IRR), with significant principal cover through underlying cash flows.
The investment is a part of Certus Capital's goal to invest Rs. 1,000 crore by FY25 through Earnnest.me. Recently, the company invested Rs. 130 crore in two prime commercial real estate projects in Pune.
Commenting on the investment, Ashish Khandelia, Founder, Certus Capital said, “Our investment with Casagrand is aligned with our goal to create an alternative capital channel for the RE industry, while providing attractive investment opportunities for investors in real estate projects backed by developers with proven track record. At Earnnest.me, we’ll continue to offer carefully selected and diligenced investment opportunities. Our larger vision is to play the role of a dominant market maker in developing real estate debt capital markets.”
Since its inception in 2018, Certus Capital has evaluated over Rs 40,000 crore of real estate credit exposure forming part of NBFCs and, housing finance companies. Certus Capital has also advised foreign institutional investors on close to Rs. 10,000 crores of closed investments / platform commitments in real estate credit and warehousing space. In Feb 2022, the company launched its secured debt investing platform, Earnnest.me, anchored around real estate. Earnnest.me has witnessed 75%+ repeat investor interest by value. The net pre-tax return on these secured, debt investment opportunities offered through Earnnest.me typically range between 14%-16%.
