Unitech inks Rs 1,000 cr office leasing deal with Accenture

Realty firm Unitech Group has leased 8.1 lakh square feet of space in its under-construction Gurgaon IT SEZ to Accenture in a deal that will give Rs 1,000 crore of rental income over 15 years.

Unitech and its group firm Unitech Corporate Parks (UCP), which is listed in London, last week signed the lease deed with Accenture, sources said.

Unitech and UCP, listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange, are in talks to sell their entire stake in the special economic zone (SEZ) being built for IT companies in Gurgaon.

The duo are in talks with private equity firm Blackstone and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC for selling their stake in the IT SEZ for an estimated Rs 2,700 crore.

The leasing agreement with Accenture could help Unitech and UCP get better valuation for their SEZ ‘IST Infospace Gurgaon’, which has a total leasable area of 36 lakh sq ft.

UCP holds 60 per cent in the SEZ project while Unitech has the remaining 40 per cent stake. Unitech also holds about 12 per cent directly in the UCP.

According to sources, the leasing deal has been signed with Accenture recently for 15 years with escalation clause.

The office space has been leased at a monthly rental of over Rs 60 per sq ft, helping Unitech and UCP earn a potential rental income of about Rs 1,000 crore over the next 15 years, sources said.

A Unitech spokesperson declined to comment on the development.

With this deal, about 90 per cent of the total leasable area in this SEZ has been absorbed. The major portion has been taken up by Accenture at nearly 12 lakh sq ft. RBS, Sapient, Bank of America, E&Y and Amdocs are the other major tenants in this SEZ.

Last month, Unitech and UCP had leased 8 lakh sq ft of office space in another SEZ in Gurgaon to US—based consultancy firm Aon Hewitt for 15 years. The leasing deal in its Gurgaon Infospace Tikri SEZ with Aon Hewitt is worth Rs 800 crore.

The two leasing deals, probably the biggest in the north India this year, have come at a time when property market, including the commercial segment, is facing slowdown.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 275,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

UCP raised about £360 million by issuing and placing its Ordinary Shares on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange in December, 2006. It had invested in six commercial projects in India in partnership with Unitech, of which five are in the national capital region and one in Kolkata.

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