Having entered India’s luxury home market through a tie-up with Pune-based Panchshil Realty more than a year ago, American billionaire and real estate developer Donald Trump will soon give India’s finance capital Mumbai a taste of his luxury brand.
The New York-based real estate moghul and the man behind the global luxury real estate company, Trump Organisation, will enter into a second brand licensing agreement in India with Mumbai-based Lodha Group, for a luxury housing project in South Mumbai. The proposed deal size is reported to be about Rs 160-170 crore, according to market sources. It would not involve any investment or construction by Trump Organisation, but a fee payment by Lodha to Trump Organisation for licensed use of the Trump brand name for its project. This is similar to the organisation’s earlier agreement with Panchshil Realty.
When contacted, Lodha Group spokesperson Ravindra Kanchan said: “We do not comment on speculation.”
The official spokesperson of Trump in India, Kalpesh Mehta said: “Neither can I confirm nor can I deny the tie-up.”
Known to television audiences worldwide through his show The Apprentice which made him a household name with his popular catchphrase “You are Fired!”, Trump is betting big on India’s luxury realty market.
Though he declined to comment on this particular tie-up, Trump did make it clear that India was definitely high up on the radar for his business interests.
The business czar is looking to expand to other Indian cities, including New Delhi. He is said to be scouting for Delhi-based developers to explore similar strategic tie-ups.
According to industry watchers, brand licensing tie-ups are a win-win strategy for both the sides as it involves zero investment by the foreign party, and allows the local developers to leverage their Indian brand at a global level.