Lodha buys Canadian London embassy building for $530 mn

First big purchase by Indian firm in London after Sahara bought Grosvenor House in 2010

In one of the biggest property deals abroad, Abhishek Lodha-led Lodha group has bought London's Macdonald House for $530 million (above Rs 3,200 crore).

Canada sold the large embassy building in Grosvenor Square because it plans to consolidate all diplomatic activities in another official Canadian property on Trafalgar Square. Canada was advised by Savills PLC.

This will be the first big purchase by an Indian company in London since the Sahara group's acquisition of Grosvenor House in 2010 for around Rs 3,400 crore. There have been reports in recent times that Sahara is selling the property to an Arab business family for a little over double the purchase price. But that deal cannot go through now, as the Supreme Court has barred the group from selling its properties.

Macdonald House - a seven-storeyed building in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair -  has previously housed the American Embassy in the city. The building was named after Sir John A Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister.

Among its earlier acquisitions, the Lodha group had last year bought the US Consulate's Washington House in South Mumbai for Rs 341.82 crore. The group, one of Mumbai's leading real estate developers, is currently developing over 35 million sq ft of prime areas - Napean Sea Road, Prabhadevi and Walkeshwar. Its landmark developments include World One and Lodha Bellissimo, besides Palava, which is spread over 4,000 acres close to the proposed Navi Mumbai international airport.