HDFC bank to lend Rs 150 crore for Kingfisher Towers

BANGALORE: HDFC Bank is lending Rs 150 crore to construct the luxurious Kingfisher Towers in Bangalore, which is jointly promoted by Vijay Mallya’s UB Group and Prestige Estates Projects, a local builder.

The project, expected to be completed by 2013, is the costliest in the Bangalore market.

“We have a line of credit with banks which could be used for this or other projects. This is more like a fall back option in case payments from customers are delayed, or if pace of construction picks up, which will require quick money,” says Irfan Razack, CMD of the company, which holds a 45% share in the Rs 1,300-crore luxury housing project.

According to a source, who did not want to be named, Prestige has already sold its share of the apartments in the building while UB is still holding on to the inventory to sell them at a higher price point later.

While the Bangalore-based real estate firm has managed to sell the apartments that it owns in Kingfisher Towers at an average price of Rs 20,000 a sq ft, Vijay Mallya is holding on to the inventory as he looks for higher prices of up to Rs 30,000 a sq ft for the same property.

Kingfisher Towers has around 82 apartments split in three blocks, but only 75 of the apartments are for sale. Each of these apartments is spread over 8,000 sq ft. The property is built on four acres of land, on which stood a palatial bungalow owned by Vijay Mallya.

This project is the most expensive in Bangalore with apartments costing upwards of Rs 20 crore. The residential tower is expected to have a rooftop helipad, four floors of parking space, a 6,000 sq ft clubhouse and garden, a swimming pool on the 10th floor and a badminton court on the 15th.