Cushman and Wakefield (C&W), the commercial real estate services firm, has acquired the entire team of Lemongrass Advisors, a real estate consultancy firm in Kolkata and eastern India, in a bid to augment its Kolkata operations.
The acquisition has expanded C&W’s operations in the region two-fold. Abhijit Das, who was the former Founder and Managing Director of Lemongrass Advisors, will lead the Kolkata operations as the new Office Director for the East.
Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director, South Asia, C&W said, C&W has been present in Kolkata for close to a decade. The Kolkata market has received a boost with the Government announcing initiatives such as the creation of a financial hub in Rajarhat and the proposal for setting up industrial parks in the public-private partnership model.
Das said the Kolkata real estate market was promising and by including Orrisa, Assam, Bihar and neighbouring Bangladesh, “we expect to garner 25 per cent market share in the next three years.''
Construction activity is estimated at 85 million sq ft across the office, retail and residential segments in Kolkata in the next three years. Of this, approximately 12 million sq ft is estimated to be office space, 1.7 million sq ft upcoming retail space, while an estimated 40,000 units is expected in the organised residential supply. The demand for residential far exceeds supply at 77,000 units, the agency has estimated.