Unitech inks Rs 1,000-crore office leasing deal

Realty firm Unitech Group has signed agreement with Aricent and Fidelity to lease about one million square feet in Gurgaon Infospace Tikri special economic zone (SEZ). The 15-year deal is likely to fetch about Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,100 crore to Unitech.

With this deal, Unitech has been able to get tenants for three million sq ft of the total 3.3 million available space at the building.

The average leasing rate at the Tikri SEZ is about Rs 60-Rs 65, and the rentals go up by about 10-15 per cent every 3-5 years.

Earlier Unitech had signed a separate leasing deal with Aon Hewitt for eight lakh sq feet for 15 years, which was pegged at Rs 800 crore.

At the Tikri SEZ, companies like Genpact, Cognizant, NTT together have taken about seven lakh sq feet on lease.

On the other hand, Unitech's IST Infospace Gurgaon, the Dundahera SEZ, is undergoing due-diligence for sale. Blackstone and GIC have conducted due-diligence on the property, valuations reported are between Rs 2800 crore and Rs 3000 crore for the potential development area of 3.6 million sq ft.

In October last year, Unitech had leased 8.1 lakh sq ft in its under-construction Gurgaon IT SEZ to Accenture for an estimated value of about Rs 1,000 crore for 15 years.

Unitech and Unitech Corporate Park, listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange, are reportedly in talks to sell their entire stake in the special economic zone (SEZ) being built for IT companies in Gurgaon for an estimated value of Rs 2,700 crore.

The major portion of this SEZ has been taken up by Accenture at nearly 12 lakh sq ft. RBS, Sapient, Bank of America, EY and Amdocsare the other major tenants in this SEZ.