hBits Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of fractional real estate platform hBits, which had recently announced the opening of its ₹500 crore Alternative Investment Fund (AIF), expects the fund to be fully subscribed by March 2024, a top executive said.
The company, which has already received commitments to the tune of ₹50 crore, expects to raise ₹200 crore for its AIF by December 2023, the executive added.
Shiv Parekh, Founder and CEO, hBits, said in an interview that hBits Asset Management had already received SEBI licence for its CAT II AIF and was looking to invest in under-construction and pre-leased properties.
“The AIF will start investing from January, next year. It will be targeting 8 to 9 properties in the commercial real estate space including offices and warehouses spread across cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru among others,” he said.
The AIF will require a minimum investment of ₹1 crore with a lock-in period of 5 to 7 years. Elaborating on the return which investors can expect, Mr. Parekh said that the AIF would offer a higher return of 18-20% since it would invest in under-construction projects.
“So far, the AIF has received good interest from investors which include high-salaried professionals, senior executives, family offices, entrepreneurs and UHNIs. The investor are a mix of NRI and others from regions such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Gujarat,” he said.
Mr. Parekh said one of the major transitions which the commercial real estate sector is undergoing is its gradual tilt towards ESG compliance.
“Sustainability is an important criterion for hBits Asset Management while choosing a property. There are various parameters that we look at from an ESG perspective,” he added.
On the potential of commercial real estate he said India has around 800 million square feet of Grade A offices space for which the demand has been growing steadily.
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