Real estate firm Lodha Developers, formerly known as Macrotech Developers, has been asked by the Supreme Court to deposit Rs 520.80 crore in a case involving V Hotels Ltd.
Lodha acquired the Mumbai-based real estate firm V Hotels under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in 2024.
Lodha said in a regulatory filing that the deposit has been sought in relation to Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings against V Hotels' former promoters, the Kerkar family. The ED had sought to attach Rs 520.80 crore worth of assets related to V Hotels.
With the deposit, V Hotels' assets, now under Lodha, will be protected from attachment by the ED. Lodha said in the filing that it expects expeditious hearing in the matter and the deposit to be released.
The matter
The ED had sought to attach properties related to V Hotels in relation to its allegations about the Kerkar family's transactions in Cox and Kings India, which they also promoted, prior to V Hotels being taken over by Lodha.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had quashed the ED's attachment of properties linked to V Hotels, noting that the current owners of the properties are protected from liability under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code with respect to actions of its former owners. The Bombay HC ruling prompted the ED to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing the matter, and asked Lodha to deposit the claim amount as security with the apex court.
V Hotels owned some properties, primarily in Mumbai, most notably the Centaur Hotel adjacent to Juhu Beach. Lodha paid around Rs 890 crore for the V Hotels acquisition, significantly lower than the admitted creditor claims of over Rs 2,500 crore, and is now developing a luxury residential project at the site, under its Lodha Luxury brand.
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