Burman GSC buys back Ascendas stake in OneHub Gurgaon
Gurgaon, November 3 2016: Burman GSC, a joint venture between the Burman Group and
Private Equity Fund, Golden State Capital (GSC), has recently bought out the stake of
Ascendas India in their SEZ, a joint venture (JV) project, OneHub located in Gurgaon.
Burman GSC and Ascendas earlier had a 49/51 JV partnership for this project. With this
transaction, Burman GSC is now 100% owner of the SEZ.
The acquisition was done for an undisclosed amount and requisite approvals have been
taken from the Board of Approval for SEZs. Ascendas India has now fully exited the project.
Burman GSC has used promoter equity to fund the buyback of the stake in the project. The
Gurgaon-based real estate major continues to remain debt free even after funding the
purchase.
Burman GSC is now putting a new strategy for the project including complete rebranding
and re-positioning of the project. This project, spread across over 62.6 acres of land and
surrounded by Aravalli Hills will be targeted towards technology companies. The new and
refreshed brand for this project will be known as Gurgaon Technology Valley (GTV) making it
the epicenter of technology firms.
“We are very confident about long term potential of the site and have committed capital for
development of leased assets for income generation. We plan to develop it as the most
preferred destination for Commercial space occupiers in North India. This will be one of the
most efficient buildings in India with more than 80% efficient floor layout. We are going to
put in place an aggressive pricing strategy, which would be in the sub Rs. 30 (per sq. ft. per
month) range making it one of the most economical space for any large global technology
firm. Our first block of close to 590,000 Sq. ft., constructed by reputed contractor Shapoorji
& Paloonji, has been completed and now ready for fit-outs,” Mr. Mohit Burman, Chairman,
Burman GSC said.
Office sector in India has continued to outperform other real estate assets classes, with
tenants showing strong and steady demand. In fact, various reports have indicated that
demand for Grade A office space is outstripping supply, with many new Indian startups in
the tech space, global MNCs, IT and telecom companies expanding operations in India.
GTV is spread over 62.6 acres and is located on main Sohna Road, which is a 4 lane National
Highway. The overall development potential of the GTV is 4.8 Mn sq. ft. Phase I of the
project with 590,000 sq. ft. of leasable space of the project has already been developed and
is being leased out.
As per findings of CBRE’s latest India Office MarketView Report – Q3 2016, demand for
prime office space reached a 10-quarter high of approximately 11 million sq. ft. for the July –
September period. As on September 30, 2016, overall prime office space absorption across
the seven leading cities including Gurgaon was about 28 million sq. ft. for the year. As per
the report, Gurgaon continues to dominate office space leasing in the NCR, with demand
mainly driven by IT/ITeS, and engineering and manufacturing companies. This is also
reflected in the micro market of Sohna Road, where most of the vacant office spaces have
been leased out over the past two year.
As per Research & Forecast Report for Gurgaon Office space April 2016 published by Colliers
International, occupiers would be consolidating their offices to one location. Major
occupiers based in Cyber City and M G Road are evaluating to renew their existing lease or
relocating to other inexpensive locations such as Sohna Road and along NH8.
This bodes well for the GTV as the location is unmatched for tenants specially in the IT and
ITeS space as rentals for this property have been priced competitively.
About Burman GSC
The Burman family is the name behind major Indian brands including Dabur and Aviva in
India. Golden State Capital is one of the most trusted Private Equity fund. Its principal
markets of focus are the US and India.
Burman GSC has forayed into Gurgaon with its first project, Gurgaon Spectrum Centre. This
project located on the NH 8 in sector 82 A is the epicenter of New Gurgaon. Surrounded by
upcoming vibrant residential cluster of approx. 50,000 units, Gurgaon Spectrum Centre is
poised to be the lifestyle destination for this urban cluster.
Gurgaon Spectrum Centre consists of 249 keys serviced apartment units that would be
eventually operated by a reputed operator already on-board. This first phase, ‘The
Spectrum’, launched last year has already been one of the highest selling projects.
The next phase in Gurgaon Spectrum Centre, will be launched soon. This premium and prime
retail space, to be branded as ‘The Spectra Plaza’, will attract leading brands looking to
target the rapidly emerging residential cluster of New Gurgaon. With residential possessions
on the upswing, a lot of tenancy led habitation has already picked up in the immediate
catchment. With some completed retail projects, already being sold for over Rs. 25,000 per
Sq. ft., The Spectra Plaza is poised to create new benchmarks.
