Phoenix Mills, CPP Investments collaborate for retail centre in Kolkata

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SME Times News Bureau | 30 May, 2021
The Phoenix Mills Limited and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board on Saturday announced the execution of definitive documents for a new joint venture to develop a regional retail centre in Alipore, Kolkata.

CPP Investments will commit to investing approximately Rs 560 crore (C$93 million) in Mindstone Mall Developers Private Ltd in tranches, for an ultimate equity stake of 49 per cent. With the funds invested by CPP Investments and PML, Mindstone will develop a retail centre with a potential leasable area of approximately 1 million sq ft. The target completion date is for the second half of 2024.

Commenting on the Mindstone deal, Atul Ruia, Chairman at The Phoenix Mills Limited, said: "We are pleased to grow our strategic relationship with CPP Investments to establish our footprint in Eastern India. This investment bears testament to the attractive long-term prospects of our robust business model of creating destination consumption hubs in key cities of India. With this asset, we are well on track to more than double our operational retail portfolio by 2024. We remain focused on expanding our portfolio by investing in attractive markets and ensuring timely execution of the projects."

Shishir Shrivastava, Managing Director at The Phoenix Mills Limited, said: "Alipore, Kolkata is a premium neighbourhood and the site is strategically located, surrounded by a dense catchment of residential and office space. We believe that the site's proximity to established and developing micro-markets, through extensive and well-developed civic infrastructure, provides us with ample opportunity to cater to the region's significant untapped consumption potential. We see this will be a mall for the city of Kolkata and a dominant consumption hub for the state of West Bengal. Our mall will be designed by international architects with large and modern open public spaces that will be integral to the customer experience in Kolkata's largest retail centre. We intend to host the best of domestic and international brands, representing all categories of consumer wallet spend."

Hari Krishna, Managing Director, Real Estate - India, CPP Investments, said: "We are pleased to further expand our relationship with The Phoenix Mills, a pioneer in India's retail property sector, to develop and own a premium retail centre in an underserved market. With this investment, CPP Investments' equity commitment to multiple ventures with The Phoenix Mills amounts to over Rs 2,620 crore. India is one of the most important markets for us in Asia Pacific and a critical part of our long-term strategy. Working alongside reputed development partners such as The Phoenix Mills allows us to expand our portfolio and enhances our ability to deliver solid long-term risk adjusted returns to CPP contributors and beneficiaries."

Kolkata is a prominent business hub in Eastern India owing to its strategic location and excellent connectivity. It is home to several large manufacturing and information technology companies along with a well-developed banking sector. The city has witnessed a rapid expansion of residential and commercial development in the last decade. Alipore is an established location with various luxurious high-end residential projects and superior infrastructure.

PML and CPP Investments are also extending their commitments to their current joint venture, Island Star Mall Developers Private Limited ("ISMDPL"). Both parties have agreed to invest collectively up to Rs 800 crore ($133 million) into ISMDPL in tranches as required, in the ratio of their respective shareholdings. The joint venture was formed in 2017 to develop, own and operate retail-led, mixed-use developments across India. Phoenix Marketcity in Whitefield Bangalore served as the seed asset for the alliance. In addition to owning and operating Phoenix Marketcity, ISMDPL owns - and is currently developing - three retail-led, mixed-use developments at Wakad Pune, Hebbal Bangalore and Indore.