Voltas sells Fort property for Rs 40 crore

MUMBAI: Voltas, a Tata company, has sold its prime office building in Fort to a high-net-worth individual ( HNI) for over Rs 40 crore. Sources said the deal, involving a built-up area of about 27,000 sq ft, was closed at the prevailing market rate of nearly Rs 17,000 a sq ft, though Voltas wanted the property to fetch around Rs 50 crore.

The HNI's plans for the property are not known. Unlike most properties in the area, which are leasehold, Voltas's three-storey building is on freehold land.

B N Garudachar, a spokesman for Voltas, said he was unaware of the development. Property consultants Cushman and Wakefield, who advised on the deal, refused to comment since they are bound by a non-disclosure agreement.

Property analysts said while no more big offices were available in Fort, the market was still not robust enough for companies to pay high rates. They said it took five years for FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd ( HUL) to find a client for its 1.54 lakh sq ft Churchgate headquarters; housing finance giant HDFC recently rented the property for Rs 160 a sq ft, or Rs 25 crore a year. In the Voltas deal, the rental rate works out to about Rs 140 a sq ft for the investor, which is good.

"Buildings like Voltas are suitable for corporate headquarters or legal offices. The neo-classical facade of such buildings is preferred by foreign retailers," said Nikhil Bhatia, MD (western region), CBRE.

With inputs from Reeba Zachariah