ASK Group on the cusp of fully investing Fund II

The Mumbai-based investment manager will have fully invested the INR 10 billion ASK Real Estate Opportunity Fund II by December.  

The Mumbai-based real estate investment manager ASK Group is planning to fully invest the INR 10 billion (€ 141.5 million; $150.2 million) raised via its second domestic private equity real estate fund by December.

PERE has learnt that the firm has already committed capital for the ninth and final investment to be made from the ASK Real Estate Special Opportunity Fund II in a residential development project. The deal is yet to be signed but the ticket size of the investment is believed to be around INR 1.2 billion.

Earlier this week, the firm also announced an investment of INR 1.25 billion in a residential project in Noida, a city located on the outskirts of Delhi being developed by the ATS Group via the same fund. The residential property is spread over a saleable area of 1.7 million square feet and will be targeting mid-income households following its completion in 2018.

“Noida has emerged as a preferred destination in the past few years due its strategic location and proximity to important centers of the city,” said Amit Bhagat, chief executive officer and managing director, ASK Property Investment Advisors. “We have also focused on Noida express way due to excellent infrastructure and proximity to job market. This investment also fits perfectly in our strategy to invest in top five cities and in mid-segment residential housing projects”.

This is the firm’s second investment in the ATS Noida project. In June last year, it invested INR 1.27 crore via its $200 million offshore private equity real estate fund, the firm’s maiden offshore vehicle launched in 2013. The firm was able to raise $50 million following which it had to put fundraising on hold for almost 15 months due to a challenging investment environment in the country. Fundraising has now resumed for the vehicle.

The firm launched ASK Real Estate Opportunity Fund II in the year 2012 to make investments in residential and mixed-use real estate developments in Mumbai, Delhi and the National Capital region, Chennai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The firm closed the fund on its INR 10 billion fundraising target last year.

ASK Group is currently in the market raising capital for its third domestic private equity real estate opportunistic fund. The firm has set an INR 15 billion fundraising target for the vehicle and is believed to have already raised INR 10 billion.