Eldeco, HDFC Capital form Rs 350 crore fund for housing projects

New Delhi: Realty firm Eldeco group on Friday said it has partnered with HDFC Capital to set up Rs 350 crore fund to develop residential projects across many cities.

Eldeco Infrastructure and Properties Ltd (EIPL), a privately held company of the Eldeco Group has "partnered with HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 3 (H-CARE 3) for an investment of Rs 350 crore to create a platform to develop multiple residential projects across multiple cities." Currently, Eldeco has identified four residential developments in Delhi-NCR, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for an initial investment of Rs 175 crore.

Earlier, Eldeco Group had partnered with HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 1 (H-CARE 1) to set up a Rs 150 crore platform for the development of low-rise and plotted development projects.

The first project under this platform 'Eldeco Paradiso', a 35-acre plotted project in Panipat was launched in late March this year.

Pankaj Bajaj, Chairman of Eldeco Group, said, "Eldeco is now present in more than 15 cities in North India, including in Lucknow through our listed entity - Eldeco Housing and Industries Ltd (EHIL). We believe that the entire North India belt is starved of quality real estate, especially housing. This new platform will help us serve this unmet demand in multiple cities in North India." Vipul Roongta, MD & CEO of HDFC Capital Advisors Ltd, said: "We are committed to strengthening our partnerships with trusted real estate developers with an established track record in development and delivery of real estate projects." He noted that Tier-2 cities offer a significant opportunity for development of branded, high quality residential projects that will cater to the burgeoning demand for housing fuelled by the social and economic transition in these cities.

"Our partnership with Eldeco will help the group expand its footprint in Tier-2 cities across North India by providing capital for the development of quality real estate developments," Roongta said.

Established in 1985, Eldeco Group is a North India focused real estate developer with strong presence in Tier-2 cities. The group operates in Lucknow through the listed entity EHIL, and in rest of the India through the privately held EIPL.

Eldeco Group has delivered 175 projects with approximately 30 million square feet of real estate development. Besides these, the group has 30 projects with 35 million square feet in various stages of execution.

Apart from Lucknow, Kanpur, Noida and Gurugram, Eldeco has presence in Panipat, Sonepat, Ludhiana, Bareilly, Panchkula, and Jalandhar among others.

HDFC Capital, a subsidiary of Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd, is in the business of managing private equity funds focused on the real estate sector in India.

HDFC Capital is the investment manager to H-CARE 1, HDFC Capital Affordable Real Estate Fund 2 (H-CARE 2) and H-CARE 3, which are registered with Sebi as a Category II Alternative Investment Funds.

These funds combine to create a USD 3 billion platform targeting the development of affordable and mid-income housing in India.