Investment management firm ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company has acquired nine floors of the VIOS Tower, a commercial property, from global asset manager Varde Partners in Wadala, central Mumbai, for over ₹525 crore.
The acquisition provides more than 3 lakh sq ft of office space through the ₹2,500-crore ICICI Prudential Office Yield Optimiser Fund II, dedicated to acquiring completed and pre-leased office properties in major Indian markets.
The office space, spanning from the ground to the 8th floor, is fully leased to established companies and is anticipated to yield more than 8% annually, with lease agreements featuring a 5% rental escalation each year.
“We are committed to long-term wealth creation by diversifying across asset classes. Amid uncertainty and changing market dynamics, we believe that real income-yielding assets are vital for building resilient portfolios,” stated Rohit Rathi, Principal Real Estate Business at ICICI Prudential AMC.
This acquisition marks the fund’s seventh commercial asset purchase in recent months, reinforcing its footprint in income-yielding commercial real estate.
Varde Partners had initially acquired this tower by purchasing NCP Commercial from the Lodha Group for ₹1,100 crore in December 2019, later selling parts of the building to Federal Bank and Trent Ltd.
The recent deal with ICICI Prudential values Varde’s exit at around 120% returns. Federal Bank acquired five floors for nearly ₹330 crore in November 2024. Currently, the tower is co-owned by Trent and Federal Bank.
Built in 2018, the office tower boasts over 827,000 sq ft of office space across 29 floors as part of a 22-acre mixed-use development.
While Federal Bank and Trent own some floors, NCP Commercial, now fully owned by the fund, will manage the operations and maintenance of the tower.
RealtyDailyNews’s email inquiry to Varde Partners went unanswered.
ICICI Prudential Office Yield Optimiser Fund II recently acquired two Grade A office properties from RMZ Group in Bengaluru and Pune for approximately ₹2,600 crore. Before this, it purchased the Aditya Shagun Infinity IT Park in Pune’s Baner for about ₹520 crore.
The demand for high-quality office real estate in India remains robust, fostered by steady leasing interest from global capability centers (GCCs), financial services firms, tech companies, and flexible workspace operators.
Investors are increasingly targeting completed, income-generating commercial assets with long-term leases and established tenants, as these offer stable rental cash flows and predictable returns.
Large domestic and international funds, including private equity firms and REIT-backed platforms, are actively acquiring Grade-A office properties across major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, and NCR. Despite global economic concerns, enthusiasm for these investments remains strong, thanks to India’s growing corporate base and appealing yields.
This trend has accelerated in response to rising demand for premium office spaces with excellent infrastructure connectivity and institutional-grade tenants, making leased commercial properties a favored choice for long-term capital investment.
