Zia Malik Lalji and Alisha Rafiq Malik, members of the promoter group of listed footwear retailer Metro Brands, have paid more than Rs 162 crore for two sea-view luxury residences in Mumbai’s affluent Worli neighborhood.
The apartments, totaling more than 15,251 square feet, are placed on the 61st level of Palais Royale, India’s tallest and most costly residential tower.
Malik paid Rs 81 crore for the apartment 61 North East, which spans 7,564 square feet, while Lalji paid the same for the South East flat, which spans 7,687 square feet. The apartments are valued at more than Rs 1.07 lakh and 1.05 lakh per square foot, making them among the most costly residential bargains.
Both buyers purchased the properties directly from the project’s current developer, Honest Shelters. According to the agreement, they will have exclusive access to a total of ten automobile parking spaces in the tower, according to documents obtained via IndexTap.com.
In September, five Metro Brands promoters, including Lalji and Malik, sold Rs 749.7 crore worth of shares in open market transactions. The timing of the share sale and subsequent home acquisition indicates significant financial changes inside the promoter group. The real estate transaction was recently completed, representing a large investment in one of Mumbai’s well-known residential districts.
On December 20, the buyers paid a total of Rs 8.10 crore in stamp duty to register the two transactions. In 2021, the Maharashtra government promised a 1% reduction in the current stamp duty for women homebuyers. As part of this policy, a female property buyer must pay 5% stamp duty for the registration of the transaction in Mumbai.
Honest Shelters, based in Pune, purchased this property for over Rs 700 crores in an e-auction held in 2019 and has agreed to fulfill all responsibilities and obligations linked to the project’s completion and turning over possession of apartments to house buyers.
The sale by the project’s secured lender was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023, and Honest Shelters has since completed the necessary improvements to the project to ensure full compliance with construction rules and to complete the project, which is scheduled to be delivered today.
Residential property sales in India’s top eight cities have reached historic levels in 2024, fueled by strong demand in the mid-income, premium, and luxury segments, and the year is expected to end with record-breaking sales figures.
Mumbai has maintained its position as the country’s largest and most costly property market, continuing its trend of high-value transactions. South and central Mumbai, noted for housing India’s most expensive flats, have been critical to this expansion. In recent years, these localities have seen a number of high-profile transactions involving industrialists, top corporate executives, actors, and athletes.
