APG is backing a residential property fund launched by Indian developer Godrej Properties.
Godrej’s fund management business has raised $275m (€244m) for its Residential Investment Program II vehicle, with APG as the lead investor.
The vehicle is a follow-on to the $200m residential development platform GPL set up with an APG-led investor group in 2012.
GPL will hold a 20% stake in GRIP II.
Sachin Doshi, APG’s managing director and head of private real estate investments, said: “In spite of a general slowdown in the asset class in the country over the last three years, our partnership projects have sold well.”
APG’s strategy of partnering with the “best local operators” has allowed the investor to succeed in a “complex market like residential development in India”.
Pirojsha Godrej, managing director and chief executive at Godrej Properties, said the second platform with APG would help the company attract “high-quality long-term equity investors” to partner with.
“This,” he said, “fits well with our strategy of deepening our presence across the country’s leading real estate markets while maintaining a capital-light development strategy.”
Godrej said Karan Bolaria, appointed to head the fund management business, would manage the residential investment programme.
APG in the past has also worked in a joint venture with Indian conglomerate Piramal Enterprises on an infrastructure mezzanine financing vehicle.
