Allianz Real Estate To Put $150 Million In Godrej’s Office Development Fund

Allianz Real Estate on Tuesday said it will invest $150 million in a dedicated fund managed by the Godrej Group for development of office properties.

"Allianz Real Estate, acting on behalf of several Allianz companies, has committed $150 million to a closed-end office development platform managed by the Godrej Group," the Munich-based Allianz Group said in a statement.

Allianz, along with Godrej Group and a European pension fund manager, will each own a third of Godrej BTC while Godrej Fund Management will act as investment manager.

The Godrej-Allianz deal marks the second and final close of Godrej Fund Mangement’s $450 million office development platform.

The Allianz Group is one of the world's leading insurers and asset managers with more than 92 million retail and corporate customers. Allianz Real Estate is the dedicated real estate investment manager within the Allianz Group.

"This investment is part of Allianz's strategy to allocate 50-60 percent of its real estate exposure within the Asia-Pacific to fast-growing markets such as China and India," the Allianz Group said in the statement.

The Godrej-Allianz deal marks the expansion of the Munich-based company’s real estate business in India. In 2017, Allianz Real Estate made its first investment in India by establishing an office investment platform with Shapoorji Pallonji.

"We continue to believe in the long-term growth prospects of the Indian economy. Strong demographic trends and improving transparency are supporting real estate occupier as well as investor demand, in particular the office sector, which is ideal for long-term institutional investors such as Allianz," said Rushabh Desai, chief executive officer (Asia-Pacific ) at Allianz Real Estate.

"Our unique blend of strong development management and investment management capabilities positions us well to deliver on the opportunity to develop and manage world-class Grade A office assets across India,” said Karan Bolaria, managing director and chief executive officer at Godrej Fund Management.

The Godrej-Allianz deal now allows Godrej Fund Management to invest in or develop office assets worth over $1 billion. The Godrej-Allianz deal also increases its assets under management beyond the $1.6 billion-mark across asset classes.

APG Asset Management NV was the cornerstone investor for Godrej BTC-I since its inception in 2018, committing $150 million.

Godrej BTC has secured two projects—one each in Mumbai and Gurugram, totaling 2 million square feet—while a 1.3 million square feet project in Bengaluru is in the pipeline.