Premium residential developer Raffles Residency Pvt Ltd is looking to close an over $70-million, high-rise luxury project with 90 apartments in Bengaluru’s central business district in three-six months. The developer is also in talks to close two other similarly valued projects in the city.

Iqbal Jumabhoy, joint promoter of Raffles Residency, told BusinessLine the company plans to build a small product portfolio in India to meet the aspirations of different target groups including young couples, mid-career professionals and CXOs, who have a fine design sensibility, are well travelled or who have lived abroad, particularly in the West.

“Demand in India is changing with Indians getting more and more sophisticated. However, the homes on offer do not match their aspirations. Our plan is to offer Indians a design-led brand that offers open privacy in a contemporary tropical setting. At any given point in time, we want to have three projects going in India — one at the design stage, one at the building stage and one at the delivery stage,” said Jumabhoy.

The Jumabhoys, once regarded as the wealthiest non-Chinese family in South-East Asia, entered the Indian real estate market in 2013 with the launch of Raffles Park, a luxury villa project at Bengaluru’s Whitefield area. Raffles Park consists of 61 five-bedroom villas spread across 15 acres, priced at ₹6.9-8 crore apiece.

Lower margins

“While the margins for luxury villas are around 30-35 per cent, we have consciously kept our margins lower because we want people to get a product that matches their needs,” said Jumabhoy.

“Every villa overlooks a green patch or water body or both on more than one side, with 4 acres of central greenery. There is no such place like this anywhere in Bengaluru,” he added.

According to the company, Raffles Park exceeds the IGBC Gold standard. About 60 per cent of the villas are sold and the first set will be handed over to residents in February.

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