Godrej Properties acquires Raj Kapoor’s Mumbai bungalow for Rs 100 crore

Godrej Properties, real estate development arm of the Godrej Group, has acquired Bollywood producer, director, and actor Raj Kapoor’s bungalow in Mumbai’s Chembur suburb to develop a premium residential project.

The company has purchased the property, located at Deonar Farm Road adjacent to Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), from the Kapoor family, legal heirs of Raj Kapoor for Rs 100 crore, showed the documents accessed by ET.

The developer has paid stamp duty worth Rs 6 crore for the registration of the deal to acquire the property built on a little over an acre. The transaction was registered on Thursday.

“This residential property in Chembur has been of great emotional and historical significance to our family. We are happy to once again associate with Godrej Properties to take forward this rich legacy for the next phase of development for this location,” said Randhir Kapoor.

Prior to this, in May 2019, Godrej Properties had acquired R.K. Studios in Chembur, Mumbai, from the Kapoor family, to develop a premium mixed-use project, Godrej RKS. The project is expected to be delivered in 2023.

“We are pleased to add this iconic project to our portfolio...The demand for premium developments has been strong over the past few years. This project will allow us to further strengthen our presence in Chembur,” said Gaurav Pandey, MD & CEO, Godrej Properties.

The Godrej Group company has been looking to leverage its brand and financial position to tap consolidation opportunities through outright acquisitions, alliances and distress situations arising in the real estate sector.

In terms of business development, Godrej Properties has added 9 new projects during the quarter ended December with an estimated saleable area of nearly 17 million sq ft with a potential booking value of Rs 23,050 crore. Of these, 3 projects are in Mumbai region, 2 each in Gurgaon and Noida and one each in Pune and Kurukshetra.

For the financial year to date, it has added 15 new projects with an estimated revenue potential of nearly Rs 27,500 crore against guidance of Rs 15,000 crore for full year 2022-23. This Kapoor family property will be the 16th addition to its development portfolio.

In an earlier interaction, Godrej had told ET, the company is likely to surpass its own guidance of adding projects with total revenue potential of over Rs 15,000 crore to its development portfolio in the current financial year.

The company has reported over 51% on-year rise in net profit at Rs 59 crore for the quarter ended December. While total income declined 8% to Rs 366 crore, operating profit for the period rose 33% from a year ago to Rs 153 crore.

During the quarter, the company launched 4 new phases and clocked a total booking volume of 4.42 million sq. ft.

Industry experts believe the ongoing market consolidation in favour of large and established developers will gain momentum owing to their better execution ability and access to liquidity in the current market environment than that for smaller developers.