American real estate mogul Donald Trump-led The Trump Organisation has entered northern India through a tie-up with Gurgaon-based investor-cum-developer IREO for a commercial project, the Indian company said in a statement.
The project will come up within IREO City, a mixed-use development spread across 500 acres along the Golf Course Extension Road in Gurgaon. The proposed commercial tower will add to the existing office space in the ongoing project that also has residential and retail developments.
The US company will lend its brand name to the project under the deal that does not include capital infusion.
VCCircle had first reported in 2014 that negotiations were going on for a brand licensing deal. At the time, people familiar with the matter had indicated that a deal was being worked out for a residential project.
“We have enjoyed tremendous success in India with our existing properties in Mumbai and Pune. With IREO, we are looking forward to pushing the boundaries together to create what will soon be one of the most exciting and sought after commercial towers in India and beyond,†said Donald Trump Jr., executive vice president of development and acquisitions at the US company.
Lalit Goyal, vice chairman and managing director, IREO, said that despite more than 58 million sq ft of total office space in Gurgaon, the city still had “a negligible supply of truly A-grade, international quality†office spaces. “Our partnership with a strong global brand like Trump is designed to fill this void.â€
This is the first commercial co-branded project of the US developer in India and also the first project in north India; it has so far two residential projects in western India. In 2014, it launched its second co-branded residential project, Trump Tower, in partnership with Lodha Group in the country's financial capital Mumbai. It earlier lent its brand to a project by Panchshil Realty in Pune, which is under construction.
The Trump Organization, however, has not made any equity investment in either of the two projects in the country. India’s real estate market has seen a string of licensing deals where foreign luxury brands have lent their names to real estate projects in India—one example being Armani.
Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner US presidential candidate, had said as far back as in 2007 that the company was looking to invest in India but the change in business environment after the slowdown in 2008 meant no such investments materialised. In his last trip to India in 2014, he reiterated that his company was looking to make “substantial investments†in the Indian property and hotel sectors.
