Dixon's Sunil Vachani buys a bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi for Rs 170 crore

Dixon’s Sunil Vachani buys a bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi for Rs 170 crore

NEW DELHI: Sunil Vachani, chairman and managing director of Dixon Technologies, has bought a sprawling 1,250 square yard bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi for around Rs 170 crore in one of the biggest residential transactions since the lockdown, two people aware of the deal said.

At Rs 1.5 lakh per square foot, the deal is also one of the costliest in the county in the recent times.

“The recent transaction in Golf Links exceeded the previous price benchmark by about 15% and a transaction of this nature reiterates the high desirability quotient of locales in Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone,” said Shveta Jain, managing director of real estate service firm Savills India.

“This transaction has also crossed previous benchmarks as there is paucity of supply as other similar sized plots are situated on the main road of Golf Links whereas this bungalow sits in an internal crescent overlooking a park,” said Jain who heads the residential services of her firm.

Sources said there was no transaction advisor involved and Vachani directly bought the bungalow from its previous owner, a former naval officer.

Vachani did not respond to emailed queries till press time Thursday.

Dixon Technologies, a leading electronics manufacturing service provider, has seen its stock price more than triple over the last one year, closing at Rs 15,732 on Thursday against Rs 4,230 on January 7, 2020. The promoter family holds nearly 36% stake in the company.

The property deal comes at a time when average asking prices for properties are down 10-15%, and in some cases even 25-50%, due to the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns. Yet, Vachani seems to have paid a significant premium for the bungalow that bears the number 17 in Golf Links.

A 1,250 square yard property at the same location was sold at Rs 120 crore before the lockdown, a dealer said.

Another broker active in the area, however, said, “Most of the 1,250 square yard plots in Golf Links are road facing where there is a lot of traffic. Only a few one are park facing, which are sold at over Rs 150 crore.”

Spread over 28 sq km, Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone has about 3,000 bungalows meant for top ministers, judges and government officials and about 600 homes owned by some of India’s wealthiest people.

This zone was developed by late British architect Edwin Lutyens between 1912 and 1930.

There have been a bunch of high-value transactions in LBZ, considered India’s most expensive address. Recently, Adani Properties of Adani Group had acquired a bungalow there.

“We are witnessing an upward trend in Lutyens Delhi for well marketable property where owners are in India to conclude the deal,” said Rohit Chopra, founder of Southdelhiprime.com, a digital real estate advisory and transaction company. “More such deals are expected to close in coming days,” he said.

Over the past decade and a half, Lutyens Delhi has become home to industrialist Naveen Jindal, steel tycoon LN Mittal, Bharti Group founder Sunil Mittal, Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar, and Yes Bank former CEO Rana Kapoor.

Experts said scarcity of properties available for outright sale in Lutyens Bungalow Zone, coupled with increasing demand, will ensure that prices in the area remain extremely high even though rates fluctuate in other parts of Delhi.

Dixon Technologies manufactures consumer durables, lighting and mobile phones for several leading brands.