London-based asset manager TCP buys Religare's rent-yielding realty fund

Acquires education infra-focused Cerestra Advisors from Religare Enterprises, which is owned by Malvinder and Shivinder Singh

The Capital Partnership (TCP), a London-based independent asset manager of the uber-rich from the Middle East, has acquired real estate investment fund Cerestra Advisors, from Religare Enterprises, owned by Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, the Indian company informed stock exchanges on Friday without sharing details.

Cerestra invests in education — rent-yielding school and college buildings — and plans to create a specialist real estate investment trust (REIT), which will be listed on the bourses. REITs have got a fillip after all issues of taxation were resolved in the Union Budget 2016 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

According to report in The Times of India, Cerestra was created when two real estate fund managers Jasmeet Chhabra and Vishal Goel partnered with Religare to build specialist investment portfolios in Indian real estate. The first offering was Cerestra Edu-Infra Fund, which is acquiring school assets in the country. 

The fund has struck deals with Mumbai's Witty International, Bengaluru's Jain Schools (also backed by KKR) and has been in discussions with others, including GEMS as part of a Rs 1,000-crore fundraise, The Times of India reported. It has deployed only a part of the funds for few acquisitions. Cerestra is expected to foray into other specialist real estate segments like hospitals and industrial warehousing.

This is TCP’s second deal with Religare in less than six months. In April, TCP bought the venture capital and private equity assets of US-based Northgate Capital as Religare started exiting alternate asset management business. Religare wanted to exit from Cerestra Advisors as part of a company rejig.

The acquisition of Cerestra comes at a time when Middle East sovereign wealth managers have stepped up activity in India's tenanted, income-earning real estate. 

Abu Dhabi has invested in the debt financing and investment funds sponsored by Kotak and HDFC in the recent past. Qatar Investment Authority has also invested in RMZ, which is amongst the largest developers of office assets in India.

Global ultra-high net worth investors are seeking stable, rent-yielding real estate options in growth economies like India. TCP, co-founded by Ali Ojjeh and Ahmed Ben Halim, two veteran investment bankers who worked with Goldman Sachs and Saudi International Bank, runs public markets funds, venture capital, private equity, real estate and wealth advisory services from its London and Dubai offices.