In one of the highest residential property deals in Bengaluru recently, two apartments in the posh Kingfisher Towers have been resold for a staggering Rs 35 crore each.
Avik Dasi reported for The Times of India that while one apartment has been bought by Amit Chawla, the chief executive of tech company Reward360, the other has been purchased by the CEO of a city-based pharmaceutical supplier, who did not wish to be named.
The apartments in the tower, which is touted to be the most expensive residential project in the city, are 8,450/sqft each and are located on the fifth floor of the building.
Situated on Lavelle Road, one of the most upscale parts of the city, the current per-sqft rate for apartments in the Kingfisher Towers is around Rs 41,420.
"When the project was launched nearly a decade ago, they were sold at about Rs 22,000 per sqft. That’s an annualized return rate of about 7% and reflects the sluggishness of the property market. The investor might have been better off investing in the public provident fund," the TOI report states.
The site on which Kingfisher Towers has been built used to be fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s ancestral home. The project was developed as an extension of UB City, a joint venture between United Breweries Holdings Ltd (UBHL) and Prestige Estates Projects LTd. The luxury project which was built on a 4.5 acre land has 81 apartments in three blocks with a total of 34 storeys. The 40,000 sqft penthouse on the top two floor belongs to Mallya.
According to a LiveMint report, Prestige has 42 apartments in its share. The group has six apartments left to sell and the last unit it sold in 2017 fetched around Rs 27 crore.
UBHL on the other hand has 39 apartments as well as the penthouse and it has reportedly sold seven apartments for over Rs 150 crore. However, UBHL has been barred by the court from selling any more apartments in view of the money laundering cases against Mallya.
In 2016, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had attached Mallya's properties worth Rs 6,630 crore, seizing his farmhouse, flats and FDs.
Other expensive deals
Last year, in what is said to be the biggest residential deal in the city, Chairman of Quest Global Ajit Prabhu bought an apartment from the Embassy Group for a whopping Rs 50 crore. Prabhu's 16,000-sqft apartment is located in Embassy One near Hebbal which also has the 230-room Four Seasons luxury hotel, 110 Four Seasons residences along with other office and retail space. The per-sqft price for the apartment is reported to be around Rs 31,000. Actor Deepika Padukone is also said to have invested in these residences.
Prior to that in 2016, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal bought a 10,000-sq-ft property for Rs 32 crore in Koramangala 3rd block.
Some of the most expensive residential areas in Bengaluru include Indiranagar, Richmond Town, Malleswaram, Koramangala and Shanthalanagar.