SWAMIH to invest in Imperia Group’s Gurugram housing project

BENGALURU: Union government-led Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing SWAMIH Investment Fund I (Swamih), will invest to complete the second phase of Imperia Group’s residential project ‘The Esfera’ in Gurugram.

Investment details were not disclosed

With the funding, the developer will be able to revive and complete this project benefiting 450 homebuyers. The project was launched in 2012 as a 1.2 million sq ft mid-segment residential project across 11 acres in Sector 37C.

The fund is managed by SBICAP Ventures, a subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets.

JLL was the transaction advisor for the deal.

The central government had launched Swamih to provide relief to developers struggling to complete their projects. In November 2019, it had announced a Rs25,000 crore special window to help complete over 1,500 stressed housing projects comprising of around 4.58 lakh housing units.

“The fund objective is to provide capital to stressed projects to help the home buyers realize their dream of living in their own homes. With this capital being provided, we are confident that close to 450 home buyers will soon be able to move into their dream homes,” said Irfan A. Kazi, Chief Investment Officer, SWAMIH Investment Fund I.

In the wake of pandemic-led disruptions, many developers saw their cash flows drying up overnight due to market conditions and overall uncertainty, leading to unfinished projects.

"We are extremely pleased to have been reposed with the trust and confidence of the SWAMIH Investment Fund. With the new influx of funds, we aim to reach the delivery deadline for The Esfera at the earliest and plan to achieve greater benchmarks in quality, safety and customer experience,” said Harpreet Singh Batra, managing director, Imperia Structures Ltd.

“The residential market in India has emerged much more resilient post the second wave of the pandemic. In Gurgaon micro market, new launches have already started. In the last two years, supply was restricted in this market due to the circle rates and lack of stamp duty benefits. But the situation is turning positive with an array of tier I launches in the city. In fact, this micro market has been leading in sales of upper middle and high-end segments within the entire NCR region in the past few quarters. Prices have remained benevolent, but we see fair opportunity of appreciation in the coming few months to years,” said Manish Aggarwal, MD, North and East, India, JLL.

Home sales in January-June 2021 rose 18% year-on-year, indicating the return of demand and buyer confidence.