EXL to buy properties to cut rental cost

"If we can own our real estate, we will not have an increase in cost on account of lease-hold improvement and lease rentals that we currently pay... We are already in talks with Unitech and 3C in Noida and DLF in Gurgoan for purchasing the properties," EXL Chief Executive Officer and President Rohit Kapoor said.       

 

The company is also planning to set up a new unit in a SEZ near Delhi.     

Currently, EXL has got 700,000 square feet of real estate and is planning to add 100,000-200,000 square feet every year. These are part of the cost-cutting measure the company is planning to undertake.      

EXL, which is a focused BPO on the banking and financial services segment with 10,500 people is planning to more than double its headcount by 2012.      

"Our headcount increases by 20-25 per cent every year. Going by that statistics we would add another 10,000 employees in the next four years," he said.    

However, he added that the headcount for the company increases at a slightly lower pace than the revenues.    

The company has drawn up aggressive plans to expand  its operations in Eastern Europe and Romania, Kapoor said.