ASK Property Investment Advisors (ASK PIA), the private equity arm of financial services company ASK Group, is raising about ₹2,000 crore through its fifth real estate fund.

The fund, which will be invested in mid-size real estate projects, is expected to be closed the next quarter.

“We have started raising it, and will start deploying the fund next quarter onwards. We are raising about ₹1,000 crore from offshore investors and another ₹1,000 crore from the domestic market, and expect to close it the next quarter,” ASK PIA CEO and MD Amit Bhagat told BusinessLine .

The company will invest the proceeds in mid-segment and affordable residential projects across Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and the National Capital Region. It will invest in return for equity across established suburbs and cities.

ASK PIA typically gets an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 20 per cent.

The PE firm had raised a total of ₹3,800 crore through its four funds, including ₹326 crore between March and December 2009, ₹1,000 crore in 2011 through the second domestic fund and ₹1,400 crore in 2016 through its third domestic fund. The company had also raised structured debt of about ₹575 crore. Additionally, some structured fund-raising were carried out for the company.

Last month, the firm inked its maiden commercial realty deal by investing ₹200 crore in a Noida project, while it is looking at exiting from one venture every quarter.

NBFC venture

Separately, ASK Group is planning to launch a non-banking financial company by July. “We will take small steps as we did in the PE space, and will start with ₹100 crore and reach ₹500 crore in the next 3-5 years.

“We want to be relevant to developers by being providers of capital through all modes, as equity is only provided by a handful of players. We will remain a mid-tier NBFC, and will focus on the quality of the borrower.”

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