This erstwhile cash shell aims to decant its £57m cash into urban Indian property over the next 18 months and has begun by splashing out £4.23m for 50% of a large shopping mall development in the city of Nashik.

Eredene was set up by a pair of lawyers, chief executive Alistair King, previously also managing director of Galahad Gold, and chairman Christopher Crosthwaite, formerly a partner of lawyer Ashurst’s.

Since Indian laws preventing foreign direct investment in sites smaller than 100 acres were lifted, making investment in urban property possible, King says ‘India looked the best opportunity’ of all the ‘undervalued asset plays’ they looked at.

Since the large multinational companies have all piled into the big five cities, King’s theory is to invest elsewhere. ‘The multinationals are seeing massive staff attrition and wage inflation,’ he observes, ‘so the next growth will be in second tier cities with good universities’ and, he hopes, consequently enhanced commercial prospects.

King concedes that bureaucracy is proving quite a burden as well as the ‘awful lot of capital looking for projects’. However, Eredene has an agreement with Saffron, a start-up run by ex-HSBC real estate strategy head Ajoy Kapoor and an experienced India hand in Rohin Shah, who is ‘closely allied’ with one of the largest real estate consultants in the sub-continent Trammell Crow Meghraj. Saffron will be responsible for ‘sourcing, evaluating and transacting’ investments.

This agreement, added to projects the experienced board acquires ‘from other sources’, should ensure a steady flow of suitable developments. As King says, ‘it’s an extremely patient game’, but the blossoming Indian economy should mean his tactics are winning ones.

That suggests Eredene could repay a punt.