Saffron Group Wants Foremost Place In Realty Funding

Real estate private equity firm Saffron Group on 25th may said it has chalked out a two-sided plan to become a leading player in the market staying put for a minimum 5 yrs in upcoming properties and buying out properties with assured rental income.
The Group, a brainchild of Ajoy Veer Kapoor and his peers from the banking society, is the promoter of Euronext listed Yatra Capital, an India-focused real estate fund. It has also launched Saffron India Real Estate Fund-1.
“Our plan is to be a foremost player in the field. We don’t have any short-term view. The industry is rising and it will yield better results for another 10-15 years,” Kapoor said.
Yatra Capital has already raised two hundred twenty million euro through two public offers and has invested almost 75 % of that in the Indian real estate market.
The Saffron India Real Estate Fund I, launched in Feb 2008, is raising a USD 350-450 million unlisted fund, with a hard cap of USD 500 million. It has done a first close on 3 Apr 08 with an anchor investment of USD 75 million from Standard Life UK. It is expected to close by the end of 2008.