The domestic asset manager has acquired the asset with over 3 lakh sq ft office space through its Rs 2,500-crore Alternate investment Fund ICICI Prudential Office Yield Optimiser Fund II that focuses on acquiring completed and pre-leased office properties across top Indian property markets.
The office space spread over the ground to the 8th floor of the tower is completely leased and occupied by established companies and is expected to provide an annual yield of over 8%. The existing lease agreements with these tenants include a 5% annual rental escalation.
“Our focus remains on long-term wealth creation through diversification across asset classes. In the current environment of uncertainty and evolving market dynamics, we believe real income-yielding assets can play an important role in building resilient portfolios for investors,” said Rohit Rathi, Principal Real Estate Business, ICICI Prudential AMC.
This marks the seventh commercial asset acquired by the fund in recent months, deepening its presence in income-yielding commercial real estate.
Varde Partners had acquired this tower by acquiring the company NCP Commercial from Lodha Group for Rs 1,100 crore in December 2019. It had later sold part of this building to the Federal Bank and Trent Ltd.
The deal with ICICI Prudential now for the nine floors values Varde’s exit at over 120% absolute returns. The Federal Bank had acquired five floors in the tower for nearly Rs 330 crore in November 2024. The tower is now partly owned by Trent and the Federal Bank.Built in 2018, the office tower has over 827,000 sq ft of office space spread over a total 29 floors and forms part of a 22-acre mixed-use development.
While the Federal Bank and Trent own the other floors of the tower, the operation and maintenance of the commercial tower will be undertaken by NCP Commercial that is now completely owned by ICICI Prudential AMC, said the other person mentioned above.
ET’s email query to Varde Partners remained unanswered.
The ICICI Pru Office Yield Optimiser Fund II recently acquired two Grade A office assets from RMZ Group in Bengaluru and Pune for around Rs 2,600 crore. Prior to that, it acquired the Aditya Shagun Infinity IT Park in Pune’s Baner locality for around Rs 520 crore.
India’s office real estate market continues to attract strong institutional investor interest, driven by steady leasing demand from global capability centres (GCCs), financial services firms, technology companies and flexible workspace operators.
Investors are increasingly focusing on completed, income-yielding commercial assets with long-term leases and established occupiers, given their ability to generate stable rental cash flows and predictable returns.
Large domestic and global funds, including private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, REIT-backed platforms and alternative investment funds, have stepped up acquisitions of Grade-A office assets across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and NCR.
The appetite has remained resilient despite global economic uncertainty, supported by India’s expanding corporate occupier base and comparatively attractive yields.
The trend has also accelerated amid rising demand for premium office spaces with strong infrastructure connectivity and institutional-grade tenants, making leased commercial assets a preferred investment class for long-term capital deployment.