Fidelity Group company leases over 6,150 sq ft office space in Mumbai

Fidelity Group’s global investment firm Eight Roads Investment Advisors has picked up a sea-view front
office spread over an entire floor in a commercial tower, Avighna House, in Mumbai’s
plush Worli locality at record monthly lease rentals of Rs 561 per sq ft.
The firm has leased over 6,150 sq ft of usable office space in the tower for five years. The agreement
includes a clause to escalate rentals by 9.75% every two years.
The deal assumes significance in the backdrop of the record per sq ft rentals attracted by any office
property in the country’s most expensive market of Mumbai after a long gap. Prior to this, in 2007, Barclays Bank had leased 15,000 sq ft office space at commercial
tower CeeJay House in Worli at Rs 725 per sq ft a month. Avighna House is also located in proximity
to CeeJay House on Dr. Annie Besant Road.
In November, ET had reported that Waterfield Advisors, an independent multi-family office and wealth
advisory firm, had leased an entire floor in Avighna House at record monthly lease rentals of Rs 520 per
sq ft. Eight Roads Investment Advisors’ office transaction has surpassed that benchmark. ET’s email queries to Eight Roads and the project developer Avighna India remained unanswered, while JLL India declined to comment Post 2008, the commercial property rentals had eased owing to improved supply of office stock in the
country’s financial capital and, also due to moderation in demand for front offices from international
banking groups following the global financial crisis. However, the demand has seen a steady growth since
then.
Eight Roads is a global venture capital firm backed by Fidelity that helps entrepreneurs scale. It invests in
broad sectors of technology and healthcare business. The company has presence in China, Europe, India
and Japan, and its global platform has over 50 years of venture investing experience, $11 billion in assets under management (AUM), over 300 portfolio companies.

Recently, ?Eight Roads Ventures announced its first India-focused healthcare and life sciences fund of
$250 million. The new fund will support 15 to 20 companies operating in the space, ranging from smaller
investments to cheque sizes of up to $40 million.
Eight Roads Ventures India has a portfolio of nearly 60 companies and invests in the broad sectors of
healthcare and technology. The fund has so far supported companies including Pharmeasy parent API
Holdings, Nicotex brand owner Cipla Health, plant-based nutrition brand OZiva, employee healthcare
platform eKincare, and dental clear aligner brand Toothsi, among others.
Worli has been known for housing offices of several financial and investment banking world majors
including Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers, Societe Generale and Hypo Bank. While Mumbai has not
witnessed a deal at these rates in the recent past, these kinds of rentals were earlier witnessed in the
business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex.
The recovery in commercial real estate, especially office spaces, after the Covid19 pandemic is getting
broad-based as indicated by the rising number of small and mid-size leases and outright transactions
across segments and key property markets.
The commercial office segment, which was significantly impacted by the pandemic, has made a strong
comeback in the last 3-4 quarters, supported by strong economic growth, increased hiring, and a return to
the office trend, keeping the office sector buoyant.
Listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS) and realty developers with sizable office real estate
portfolios have started witnessing increase in transactions for 10,000 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft and even
boutique offices in addition to large transactions getting concluded.