Who is Manav Sardana, buyer of 'India's most expensive' Rs 271 crore DLF The Dahlias penthouse in Gurugram?

Entrepreneur Manav Sardana has bought a penthouse at DLF's The Dahlias in Gurugram for Rs 271 crore, in what two people aware of the transaction described to ET Bureau as the costliest single-unit residential deal in the country.

The penthouse spans a super area of 17,200 sq ft and a carpet area of 10,500 sq ft, working out to approximately Rs 1.58 lakh per sq ft on super area and nearly Rs 2.6 lakh per sq ft on carpet area, placing it among the most expensive residential transactions in India on a per-square-foot basis as well.

Who is Manav Sardana?


Sardana is an entrepreneur who was associated with Imperial Auto Industries before the company was acquired by global private equity firm Warburg Pincus. He is reportedly the son of S.B. Sardana, who co-founded Imperial Auto Industries with Jagjit Singh in 1969.

Headquartered in Faridabad, Haryana, Imperial Auto Industries is a major manufacturer of fluid transmission products for the automotive and off-highway sectors. Sardana is reportedly a director in more than a dozen companies linked to the Imperial Auto group, including Imperial Silicon Private Limited, Kreuz Hydraulics Private Limited, and Imperial Martor Engine Tubes Private Limited, among others, according to a report by OfficeChai.

What is DLF The Dahlias?

The Dahlias is DLF's ultra-luxury residential project on Golf Course Road in Gurugram, launched in October 2024. The project is spread across approximately 7.5 million sq ft and comprises 420 residences across 29 levels and eight towers, along with 15 exclusive duplex penthouses.

Speaking on an analyst call for Q1FY27, DLF managing director and chief business officer Aakash Ohri said the company had sold around 34 units in the last quarter and was approximately 65 per cent sold. "The price realisation is now over Rs 1 lakh a square foot, and on higher floors about touching Rs 1,20,000 a square foot. The entry level of the project is Rs 100 crore plus, and almost over 25 to 30 per cent of our business now is coming from the rest of India and outside, which is NRI," Ohri told investors.

DLF has also said that the top ten wealthy families from tier-2 cities are among those keen on buying apartments at the project.

Who else has bought at DLF The Dahlias?

Sardana's purchase is the latest in a series of high-value transactions at The Dahlias that have drawn attention to Gurugram's ultra-luxury housing market.

In April 2026, ace investor Madhusudan Murlidhar Kela purchased an apartment in the project for Rs 120.71 crore, according to ET Bureau. Former India cricket opener Shikhar Dhawan had reportedly bought an ultra-luxury apartment at The Dahlias for nearly Rs 69 crore in February 2025. In October 2025, Hindustan Times Real Estate reported that a Delhi-NCR-based industrialist had purchased four apartments at the project for approximately Rs 380 crore.

Sardana's Rs 271 crore deal, however, stands apart as the single most expensive individual home transaction recorded in the country to date, according to ET Bureau.

(With agency inputs)