Fidelity Group company leases sea-view 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 a monthly lease rental of ₹561 per sq ft, making it one of the most expensive per sq ft rental deals in the city in recent times.

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. In 2007, Barclays Bank had leased 15,000 sq ft office space at commercial tower CeeJay House in Worli at ₹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 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 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 and $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.