Singapore’s GIC to buy 1.1 mn sq ft space from Phoenix Group in Hyd

GIC Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Government of Singapore Investment Corporation has entered a pact with Phoenix Group to buy an Information Technology-Special Economic Zone (IT-SEZ) spread over 1.1 million sq ft in Hyderabad's Gachibowli locality at a cost of Rs 1,050 crore. The project—Phoenix Aquilla, has two towers spread over 1.8 million sq ft and the first tower with 7 lakh sq ft has already been completed and leased. Both the towers situated next to Amazon's operational campus are separate and independent parks. Currently, the second block with 1.1 million sq ft space is under construction and is expected to be completed in the next 15 months. Last year, in one of the single largest leasing transactions in the country, this entire IT park was pre-leased to American IT major Micron Technologies. The agreement with GIC is a forward purchase agreement as the project will be handed over by the Phoenix Group after completion of the entire construction and execution. GIC has paid part of the consideration amount upfront, and the balance will be transferred after the project's handover to them. In March, global alternative investment advisor Varde Partners invested over Rs 1,150 crore in the Phoenix Group's two under-construction IT parks. Prior to inducting GIC and Varde Partners, the developer entered into alliances with global entities such as CapitaLand, Xander, Lake Shore for its other projects. In February, Ascendas India Trust entered into an agreement with the Phoenix Group to acquire an IT SEZ project for Rs 506 crore. This project, an IT SEZ—aVance 6 at HITEC City in Hyderabad, is spread over 6.3 lakh sq ft, and around 98.3% of the space here is leased to Amazon Development Center. In 2019 Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)-backed Lake Shore India Advisory bought a majority stake in a retail mall project in Hyderabad from Phoenix Group for Rs 1,000 crore, inclusive of construction funding. Xander Investment Management, the private equity real estate arm of global investment firm The Xander Group, signed a Rs 2,550 crore primary investment with the Hyderabad-based developer for the development and acquisition of a 4.5 million sq ft office space in Hyderabad in 2018. Institutional investment in Indian real estate has staged a smart recovery during the quarter ended December with Rs 25,606 crore investments. As a result, the year 2020 closed with Rs 36,580 crore investments, equivalent to 93% of 2019 transactions, despite a sudden halt brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Image Source