Lodha Group arranges £252m to repay bonds

INDIAN realty business Lodha Group has arranged £252 million to repay bonds maturing next year.

The company has arranged the sum through refinancing against unsold inventories in its London project, infusion of funds from promoters, and the sale of commercial properties.

The Mumbai-based group has a total debt of over £2 billion, of which £1.84bn is from its India business.

The rest of the debt is from the London market.

Abhishek Lodha, managing director of the group, has expressed confidence that the company would become net debt-free in the next 24 months.

He was quoted by PTI: “Our $325m bond pertaining to the London business is maturing in March next year. So we have arranged funds in advance to meet our obligations when the bonds mature. About $155 million has been arranged through financing against unsold inventories in a London project, while another $110m will be infused by the promoters through family offices”.

“Debt is definitely a concern; therefore, we are reducing it gradually and getting better every day," he said commenting on the debt concern.

Another £46.49m or fund will come through the surplus from the recent sale of a commercial property in India’s commercial capital Mumbai, he added.

The company sold 800,000 square feet office space for £146m recently.