Max Life buys Pune building in record deal

Max Life Insurance Company has purchased a pre-leased commercial structure in a record deal from a high-net worth owner. The building covers an entire area of 1.79 lakh sq. ft. and is located in Magarpatta City in Pune. The deal took place for a whopping Rs. 175 crore. The company is a subsidiary of Max Financial Services which is listed. The property has been bought for investment purposes according to reports and not really for end-usage. The area has seen rentals touching Rs. 75-80 per sq. ft. nearby and the annual income has been estimated to be between Rs. 18-20 crore for this commercial structure. The building comes with a total of 8 floors along with a basement and ground floor and there are 200 parking slots for cars as well. According to reports, Max Life Insurance Company has already been investing in several commercial real estate properties. The portfolio of the firm is approximately Rs. 52, 000 crore and out of this traditional funds comprise of Rs. 33, 000 crore. The company is now looking at driving higher investments in real estate and also in commercial assets which have been pre-leased. Commercial realty has been a major point of interest for several pension funds, investors and sovereign wealth funds. Other insurance organizations have already bought property in this neighborhood and these have also been for investment needs. Investments have been flowing into the commercial real estate sector and residential realty is also benefiting as a result. Domestic and foreign institutional investors are already investing more into these sectors. Magarpatta City is fast becoming the destination of choice for commercial realty investors and several new companies are setting up their offices in the vicinity. This record deal and other such transactions are expected to give a major boost to residential real estate markets in surrounding areas. Indian real estate has witnessed major investments from several investors globally like Brookfield Asset Management, Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Qatar Investment Authority. With REITs, RERA and GST among other reforms in the sector, investors are more amenable towards making higher investments in the realty sector.