Gaurs Group raises rs 450 crore to pare debt, complete mall

NEW DELHI: Noida-based realty firm Gaurs Group has raised Rs 450 crore from ICICI Bank as debt for completion of its commercial asset in 237-acre township ‘Gaur City’. The funding has come at a time when most banks have stopped funding developers, especially those based in NCR, due to a large number of stuck projects.

“Of the amount, Rs 325 crore has been used to repay part of Rs 640-crore funding we had availed from Punjab National Bank Housing Finance Ltd (PNBHFL) almost a year back. Rest of the amount will be used for the construction of Gaur City Mall in Greater Noida (West),” said Vineet Singhal, group CFO of Gaurs Group.

Gaur City Mall has leasable area of 8.5 lakh square feet. It also has 1,200 office spaces, 180-room hotel and 120 service apartments.

The group, which is developing projects in Noida, Greater Noida West, , Ghaziabad and Yamuna Expressway, has a debt of Rs 2,000 crore of which Rs 700 crore is Lease Rental Discounting (LRD), while Rs 1,300 crore is from NBFCs and banks.

In March 2019, it had raised Rs 500 crore from Kotak Mahindra Bank.

“The transaction will cut down our interest cost and make our portfolio stronger as one third of our total corporate loans will be LRD/ LAP,” said Gaurs Group MD Manoj Gaur.

The group, which is completing 25 years, has invested heavily in Gaur City, where 25,000 families live. It is also developing a 250-acre township ‘Gaur Yamuna City’ on Yamuna Expressway that connects Noida with Agra, and is banking heavily on Jewar airport for its success.

“At a time when the real estate sector is passing through a challenging phase, the trust and confidence that ICICI Bank has shown in our group offerings speak volumes about our robust business performance and strong credentials,” Singhal said. The group has also diversified into education and hospitality businesses.