Ashapura Options gets Rs 100 crore from Xander Finance for Mumbai slum redevelopment

NEW DELHI: Developer Ashapura Options has received Rs 100 crore from Xander Finance for its slum redevelopment project in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area.
Girish Patel, managing director of Ashapura Options, said a lot of the money will be used for construction of 350 homes while a part of it will be used to repay debt.

The funding comes in an otherwise slow market where builders are scrambling for money to complete projects. This is one of the few deals where money has come in at an early stage of the project. In this market, a majority of nonbanking finance companies (NBFCs) and funds are putting in money at the end stage of projects.

“The market is generally slow but in this part of Ghatkopar there is decent demand, but not many projects to choose from. Also, bringing in an institutional investor always helps improve sales, as it changes the perception about a project,“ said Patel.

Amar Merani, CEO of Xander Finance, said the NBFC has put in money because the project is in an attractive location and the developer has done a good job in construction and sales so far. According to property research firm Liases Foras, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has close to 192.27 million sq ft of unsold residential space.