The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has acquired office space spread over nearly 15,000 sq ft in commercial tower One Lodha Place in Mumbai’s business district Lower Parel for over Rs 101.25 crore.
The UK Consulate has acquired the office space spread across a total 12 units on the 19th floor of the tower from Lodha Group’s listed entity Macrotech Developers.
The buyer has paid just Rs 100 as stamp duty for the registration of the transaction that was concluded on May 28, showed the documents accessed through Propstack. Property registration in Mumbai attracts a total 6% stamp duty.
The concession in stamp duty charges in this case has been granted as consulates in India benefit from exemptions from stamp duty on property transactions and other official legal documents as part of their diplomatic privileges, in accordance with international conventions and national laws.
The UK Consulate currently operates from Mumbai’s business district Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and this office is expected to be shifted to the new address in Lower Parel, said persons with direct knowledge of the development.
The UK Consulates’ office transaction assumes significance given that it is an outright acquisition deal indicating its long-term commitment.
ET’s email query to the UK Consulate and Lodha remained unanswered until the time of going to press.
The ready-to-move-in office tower has been developed by One Place Commercial Pvt Ltd, which is part of Macrotech Developers. The 173-meter structure consists of 28 floors, 10 podium levels, two basement levels, two service levels, and a terrace.
India’s top seven office property markets have registered over 13.8% on-year growth in gross leasing of over 15.16 million sq ft during the first quarter of 2024, marking the second-best performance for the March quarter, showed a recent report.
This marks the third consecutive quarter where gross leasing has surpassed the 15 million sq. ft mark, following the historical high of 20.94 million sq ft in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 16.03 million sq ft in the third quarter of 2023.
