Indiabulls Real Estate has paid £155 million for a commercial property in London’s Mayfair, marking the third significant realty investment in London by an Indian realtor since November 2013. The Mumbai-based developer has bought a 87,444 sq ft property, 22 Hanover Square, in an auction from the Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, which is now part of Aberdeen Asset Management. Mayfair is an up-market London neighbourhood, home to the significantly wealthy.
Indiabulls is an Indian company headquartered in Gurgaon, with an international presence in real estate, infrastructure, housing finance, securities, and retail sectors.
“Over the years, London has demonstrated that it’s a very mature real estate market that has remained stable through economic cycles like the 2008 crisis, since it attracts investments from across the globe — Europe, Asia and the US; and is therefore a very good hedge besides being a reasonable IRR investment,” said Sameer Gehlaut, Chairman and Co-founder of Indiabulls.
Sameer Gehlaut graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1994. He worked in US based oil services company Halliburton before co-founding Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd, which was India’s first online brokerage company.
The property is located in the illustrious Mayfair area, adjoining Bond Street. The auction gained significant interest because of its location, and the fact that the owner also has the title to the land on which the building is located.
Luxury property agent Wetherell expressed that India-based buyers are now the largest group of overseas buyers in Mayfair, comprising 25% of all purchasers. They are second only to British-based buyers. These Indian investors have invested around £1 billion into the central London property market over the last 18 months, and are expected to spend a further £500 million on redevelopment in the next five years.
The Prideview Group has been dynamically involved in the acquisition, management and sale of commercial and residential properties throughout the U.K., since its establishment by Raj and Shailesh Patel in 1987. If you want to invest, or already own property, in the UK or India, we have the professional expertise to help you make the best decisions. If you’re looking for commercial property agents in London, please do not hesitate to contact us here at Prideview Properties for more information.