ASK Group announces closure of Rs2000-crore domestic fund

ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASK PIA), the real estate private equity arm of ASK Group, has announced the first closing of its seventh domestic fund of upto Rs2,000 crore . The company has raised Rs535 crore for this fund, called 'ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund -I, as on date.

The fund also comes with a Rs1,000 crore greenshoe option.

''The objective of this fund is to provide flexible and patient capital. Currently developers' balance sheets as well as individual projects are facing cash crunch. Our strong research team identifies bankable projects that need this capital. In our view, focus on construction and project completion coupled with declining home loan interest rates will revive residential real estate demand leading to an improvement in cash flows sufficient to generate returns,'' said Amit Bhagat, MD & CEO of ASK Property Investment Advisors.

''This strategy also complements the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act which focuses on completion. Keeping in mind the current requirement of the developer, structured/preferred equity investments is planned to be provided through this fund. The fund will be focusing on investing in mid segment and affordable residential projects and generating sustainable risk adjusted returns,'' he added.

Crisil has assigned its 'Crisil Fund Management Capability Level-1' rating to the ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund-I (ASK RESSF-I) scheme. The rating certifies 'highest' standards in fund management capability and investment processes.

''ASK PIA partnering with trusted developers has resulted in successful exits, close to Rs 2,000 crore. We have a successful track record of raising funds through institutions and family offices of which majority of commitment is from existing investors in this fund. I am delighted that the trust from our client is further strengthened by 'CRISIL Fund Management Capability Level-1' rating,'' said Sunil Rohokale, MD & CEO at ASK Group.

''This year, we would like to deploy Rs1,000 crore with average investments of up to Rs 200 crore,'' he added.

ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund will continue with its strategy to stay focused only on top six cities (Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad), investing and partnering with reputed and bankable developers. The investments will be in launched projects at the construction stage with all requisite approvals in place.