Virtuous Retail South Asia has announced the acquisition of the Trilium retail shopping center portfolio from Tata Realty for $100m.
With these acquisitions, VRSA adds two more operational centres to its existing, operational 5.4m sq ft retail portfolio of community-centric centres, VR Chennai, VR Bengaluru, VR Punjab, and VR Surat.
The acquisition from Tata Realty is in line with the company’s rapid pan-India expansion strategy being executed through both ground-up development and acquisition of existing, high-quality retail assets.
With these new acquisitions and the recently announced 20 acre land acquisition in Mumbai, VRSA’s operational and under development India retail portfolio is now over 13m sq ft across the four metropolitan cities of NCR Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai and regional gateway cities of Surat, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Nagpur.
In line with its approach to acquisitions, VRSA will invest additional capital and resources in repositioning and rebranding the Trilium shopping malls as community-centric, flagship VR centres.
The transformation will see the addition of a suite of new retail brands, leading dining formats, new-age entertainment facilities, people-friendly community spaces, extensive landscaping and pedestrianisation, comprehensive wellness concepts, and cultural and event offerings that draw upon local history, heritage and culture. Upon completion of the repositioning program, the centers will jointly attract over 10 million annual customer visits, and materially boost local employment, city tourism and municipal, city and state tax revenue, apart from contributing to the government’s efforts of urban regeneration.
RPA Perspective Sid Yog, Founder and Chairman of the Board, VRSA, said: “We are very pleased to expand our footprint in Maharashtra and Punjab and add two strategic assets to our award-winning retail portfolio in India. The acquisition of the Tata Realty retail portfolio provides an immediate opportunity to convert two existing, well-built assets in highly desirable locations, into people-centric VR flagship centres for two leading Indian cities with a very proud and rich heritage and history.
After the repositioning, we expect these community-centric centers to address the aspirations of the local communities of Amritsar and Nagpur, and provide world class retail, entertainment, and urban infrastructure that will strengthen the international standing of these cities as major tourist hubs.”
Spread over 5.5 acres, the 1m sq ft Trilium centre in Amritsar sits within a larger campus that includes the Taj Swarna. Amritsar has been earmarked for the Indian government’s Smart City Mission and is home to The Golden Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that annually attracts millions of tourists.
The 700,000 sq ft asset in the heart of Nagpur is at a major junction that connects the six arterial roads of the city. Nagpur is one of India’s largest cities by population and an important logistics and commercial hub given its strategic geographical location in the centre of the country. Its historical importance as the Maharashtra state government’s winter capital and large-scale infrastructure projects, including the Nagpur Metro and a multi-modal international airport – all being executed at an enviable pace – make the city an important strategic choice.
Rohit George, Executive Managing Director, VRSA, added: “These acquisitions immediately add 1.7m sq ft of existing retail space to our operational portfolio, taking it to about 7m sq ft across 6 cities. Combined with the under development VR Delhi and VR Mumbai (totalling ~ 5m sq ft), and the soon to be opened VR Mantri Arena in west Bengaluru (1m sq ft) which is in final lease-up stage, our portfolio enables us to offer our retail, entertainment, and food & beverage partners world class, new age retail developments of significant scale in nine very attractive locations across eight of India’s most important cities.”
VRSA develops and manages community-oriented retail and lifestyle centres across India. Over the last 12 years, VR has redefined the spatial retail experience for consumers by delivering innovative centers that seamlessly integrate shopping, dining, hospitality, leisure, and entertainment, including current flagships VR Chennai, VR Bengaluru, VR Punjab, and VR Surat.
