IDBI Trusteeship Services has approached the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against Noida-based developer Shipra Estate Ltd for the default of over Rs 315 crore.
IDBI Trusteeship is a trustee for the non-convertible debentures subscribed by IIFL Asset Management Company in 2015.
The lenders have now approached the dedicated bankruptcy court against the developer to initiate Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and have proposed Nishanth Gupta as interim resolution professional.
“As on August 2, 2021, the total amount of debt in default by the corporate debtor (Shipra Estate) occurring under the investment agreement and DTD (debenture trust deeds) is over Rs 315 crore,” said the petition filed by IDBI Trusteeship.
ET has reviewed a copy of the plea.
The petition said that the lenders had extended a facility based on mortgages of large land parcels in Lucknow and Chandigarh.
IIFL AMC spokesperson confirmed that they have filed the insolvency proceedings against Shipra Estates.
However, the plea further claims that the developer failed to make any progress to monetise the same land parcels in the last 5 years.
“As per our knowledge, no such petition has been filed before the NCLT,” a Shipra Group spokesperson said.
“In September 2019 itself, the financial creditor had declared an event of default under the Debenture Trust Deed and Investment Agreement for default in payment toward principal and interest,” said a person aware of the case in the tribunal. “Shipra Estate’s promoter Mohit Singh has extended a personal guarantee, at the time of raising the debt as well.”
Shipra Group is also involved in a legal battle with Indiabulls housing finance.
On December, 10, 2020, Indiabulls had issued a bankruptcy code notice to the personal guarantor of the loan agreements seeking repayment of outstanding dues within 14 days.
Indiabulls has a financial exposure of Rs 1,763 crore across the 14 loan agreements.
As an aftermath of a series of lockdowns and slower business activities, lenders have approached the tribunal against several prominent developers in major markets.
Recently, on August 5, the Mumbai NCLT had admitted an insolvency resolution plea, filed by IDBI Trusteeship, against Nirmal Lifestyle Ltd. The company had defaulted on its dues of about Rs 286 crore toward its dues.
In May, Pune-based Kumar Urban Development was also admitted into NCLT on a petition filed by
Trustee after the company defaulted on its dues of about Rs 432 crore.
As per the latest report by the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), since the inception of the IBC, a total of 4376 CIRPs have commenced by the end of March 2021. About a fifth, or the second-highest, of these companies are from the real estate sector. The highest – or 41% of resolution petitions – were filed against manufacturing companies.
