Who Owns Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Villa In Goa? It Has A Bollywood Connection
Liquor baron and fugitive Vijay Mallya never really went out of the newscycle and now former owner of the defunct Kingfisher Airlines is dominating headlines following his lengthy conversation with podcaster Raj Shamani.
Mallya, who is wanted in India for alleged loan defaults and is currently based out of the UK, once owned the lavish Kingfisher Villa in Goa, among many several properties, where he hosted many high-profile parties in his heyday as the 'King of Good Times'.
The villa is spread over 12,350 square feet (three acres) at the Candolim beach village in North Goa, which is around 20 km from Panaji and on the way to Fort Aguada. It was legally owned by United Breweries Holdings (UBH), the parent company of the Kingfisher Airlines.
After Mallya defaulted on his loans and fled the country in 2016, the Kingfisher Villa was sold to Bollywood couple, actor-producer Sachiin Joshi and his wife, actor Urvashi Sharma of Naqaab film fame for Rs 73.01 crore the next year.
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Joshi, whose film credits include Mumbai Mirror and Jackpot, in which he co-starred with Sunny Leone, also runs Viiking Ventures. According to the businessman's official website, the company dabbles in different verticals such as FMCG products (alcoholic, non-alchoholic beverages), hospitality, entertainment, realty, infrastructure paper products and philanthropic activities.
In 2017, Joshi bought the Kingfisher Villa in an auction conducted by the consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, to whom Mallya owed money. The bankers had initially set the price of the villa at over Rs 90 crore for auction.
Joshi, whose liquor manufacturing business sells products including Kings Beer, later renamed the Kingfisher Villa to 'King's Mansion'.
The businessman had opened up about his plans for the property when he unveiled the plaque of the massive villa rechristened as King's Mansion.
"Today is the day I open the gates to the world. The property has been coronated as the 'King's Mansion' and the future plans have been drawn. We had multiple names to dabble, but then the brand connection from 'Kings Beer' and the inherent grandeur of the property made the choice," he said.
"We have some interesting plans for the place. But the innate point of anything we do here would be to create an experience like no other. The place would denote class and something that's never been done in India before," he added.
Joshi himself acquired the Goa-based Kings Beer from Impala Distillery and Brewery for Rs 90 crore back in 2015.
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