Carlyle invests $26m in Indian affordable housing firm

The investment, which comes from FCG IX, a division of the $1.04 billion Carlyle Asia Growth Partners IV fund, will be used to build new homes. Existing investors in VBHC will inject additional capital alongside Carlyle.

VBHC launched with the goal of building more than one million affordable entry-level homes over 10 years across urban India. More than 1,000 units have been sold in the last year, and the pre-sale of 900 units will start next month.

The company looks to lower homeowners' maintenance costs and promotes sustainable living through the provision of renewable energy and water and waste management solutions in each property. Development sites also feature on-site English medium schools, working women's centers, day care medical centers and shopping complexes.

"VBHC is a play on the strong unmet demand for affordable housing in India, which is estimated at more than $200 billion," Wayne Tsou, managing director and head of Carlyle Asia Growth Capital, said in a statement. "The demand for affordable housing will continue to grow quickly due to urbanization, increasing number of nuclear families, rising income levels and strong desire for home ownership.‛"

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• Real estate