Goa's plush Kingfisher Villa, where Vijay Mallya has hosted several glitzy parties in the past, failed to attract a single bidder at an e-auction — marking yet another failed attempt by lenders to recover dues from the embattled businessman.
While repeated attempts have been made without any success for sale of several other assets kept as collateral by erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines of the Mallya-led UB Group, the famed Villa was put under hammer for the first time.
However, the auction turned out to be a damp squib, supposedly due to its high reserve price at Rs 85.3 crore, sources said.
The sea-facing palatial villa, situated in Candolim, Goa had earlier attracted interest from at least half a dozen players in the hospitality industry and a media group, when it was opened for inspection to interested bidders during the end of September and early October.
The 17-lender consortium led by State Bank of India took physical possession of the property in May after a long legal battle with United Spirits over tenancy rights.
The villa was owned by United Breweries Holdings and mortgaged by Kingfisher Airlines to the consortium of banks to obtain loans in 2010.
In August this year, lenders to the now-defunct airlines and tax authorities had put under hammer various movable and immovable assets of the KFA for a second time, but failed to get any buyers.
The grandeur of the Kingfisher Villa finds mention in the autobiography of flamboyant West Indies batsman Chris Gayle. Gayle, after joining Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), which was earlier owned by Mallya but is now with Diageo, got an opportunity to stay in the villa where he had spent five days as "the king of the villa".
Mallya owes over Rs 9,000 crore to lenders like SBI, PNB, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Allahabad Bank, Federal Bank and Axis Bank, among others.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(This story was first published on 19 October 2016. It is being reposted from The Quint’s archives in view of the property being put up for auction)
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