JB Chemicals promoters buy two luxury apartments in South Mumbai’s Morena House for Rs 138 crore

Pranabh Mody and Purvi Asher, part of the promoter group of leading pharmaceutical company J B Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, have bought two sea-view luxury apartments in JSW Realty’s under-construction project Morena House in South Mumbai’s plush Carmichael Road for Rs 138 crore.
The deals are valued at around Rs 1.31 lakh per sq ft, making them one of the costliest property transactions in the country. Stamp duty alone for these transactions is around Rs 7 crore.

While Mody, who is part of promoters group and former President of the company, has bought the apartment spread over 5,341 sq ft on the 5th floor for Rs 70 crore, his sister Asher has purchased the 5,284-sq-ft apartment on the 4th floor for Rs 68 crore.

Mody and Asher have paid stamp duties worth Rs 3.50 crore and Rs 3.40 crore, respectively for their property transactions executed and finalised on July 26, showed documents accessed through Indextap.

The deals assume significance for the high value and also given that these have been finalised and executed this week itself unlike most big-ticket property transactions that are being reported now but were finalised before March 31, the last day to avail the benefit of reduced stamp duty.

As per the agreement, both the buyers will get access to four car parks each along with the super-premium apartments.

Last year, JB Chemicals was in news after global investment major KKR & Co’s subsidiary Tau Investment Holdings Pte Ltd picked up a controlling stake of 54% in the company from the founding Mody family and made a subsequent open offer.

ET’s separate email queries to Mody and JSW Group remained unanswered until the time of going to press, while Asher declined to offer any comment for the story.

Currently, JSW Realty’s arm Windsor Residency is developing a luxury residential project on the plot of Morena House it had bought in 2008. Prior to this, the one-storey terrace bungalow used to house Belgian Consulate. The project is expected to be completed in 2023.

Carmichael Road, one of the most elite addresses in the country, is home to several colonial-era bungalows and spacious art-deco apartment blocks built between the 1920s and 1950s.

In December, Bharat Serum & Vaccines’ Gautam Daftary bought an entire floor with two large sea-view apartments in a nearly completed project on this street for Rs 101 crore in one of the most expensive residential transactions concluded in 2020.

Hasit Dani, a member of the Asian Paints promoter family, also bought a duplex apartment in a project being built on the plot of Hindustan Unilever’s erstwhile guesthouse Alhambra on Carmichael Road for Rs 95 crore. This deal was valued at over Rs 1.49 lakh per sq ft.

While the registration data has been suggesting more traction in housing sales in suburban localities, these luxury deals in south- and south-central Mumbai are also taking the country’s most expensive property market to new highs.