Lodha to exit UK property market

Indian realty major Lodha Developers will exit the UK property market and is in an advanced stage to sell two of its residential projects in central London for about Rs 4,200 crore ($0.59 million). Exiting the UK property market is part of the company′s strategy to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet. Lodha Developers, which aims to launch IPO when market condition improves, is also looking to raise about Rs 700 crore ($99 million) by selling a stake in a mid-income housing project in Mumbai to private equity players, taking the total fundraising to nearly Rs 5,000 crore ($0.7 billion). Abhishek Lodha, MD, Lodha Developers, said: "We are in advance stage of selling our equity interest in UK assets." The deal with a UK-based investment fund is likely to be concluded soon, he said, adding the fund would be utilised to prepay/repay debt, which currently is around Rs 18,000 crore ($2.5 billion). The company′s board is focussed on ensuring a significant upgrade in its ratings in the next 12 months with a goal of being in the AA category. Lodha said the company would be earning 15-16 per cent return on investment in the UK market.