HLL and American Express Bank are selling residential flats to rake in moolah. Together, the duo have put flats worth Rs36 cr in the market.
Mumbai's real estate market is at an all-time high and multinationals too are cashing in on the boom. Big firms like Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) and American Express Bank are selling residential flats to rake in the moolah. Together, the two companies have put flats worth Rs36 crore on the market.
Of the 60-odd flats that market sources say HLL plans to dispose of, the company -- believed to the largest holder of real estate assets in Mumbai after Reliance - has currently put three flats, with a combined worth of Rs17 crore, on the block. All three are at prime locations, the most attractive of the lot occupying a 3,110 sq ft space on the 13th floor of Breach Candy Apartments. The four-bedroom flat, overlooking the Arabian Sea, comes with two garages and an attached servant's room. The asking price: Rs15 crore.
The proposed sale has realtors in a tizzy as it means a price of Rs50,000 per sqft. Flats in Breach Candy have been going at the rate of Rs30,000 to Rs32,000 psf. HLL has appointed international real estate consultants Cushman and Wakefield as its broker.
"The idea behind selling their flats - which they have never done earlier - is not just to improve their balance sheet, but also to reduce the administrative hassles of maintaining the flats. It is also too big an investment (approximately Rs50 crore) to be lying idle," said Fali Poncha, head of the residential wing at Knight Frank, global property consultants.
HLL is not alone. HSBC, Deutsche Bank and Bayer India are also learnt to have sold flats in South Mumbai in recent months. Sanjay Dutt, executive director with property consultants Cushman and Wakefield, says: "The trend of corporates offloading residential flats follows a change in the human resources policy over the years, encouraging employees to buy their own apartments. Instead of blocking large capital in purchasing flats, corporates retain a few assets like guest houses and prefer to rent flats for their senior management, freeing up capital to grow their businesses."
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