WNS Global Services Sells 170,000 Sq Ft Office in Pune in Unique Sale and Leaseback Deal
WNS Global Services Sells 170,000 Sq Ft Office in Pune in Unique Sale and Leaseback Deal
This setup enables the company to free up capital that is otherwise locked in real estate assets without interfering with its operations.
In a unique sale and leaseback deal concerning an office property in India, WNS Global Services, a global business process management firm, has sold its 170,000 sq ft office space in Pune and will lease it back for a duration of five years.
Sale and leaseback arrangements are commonly observed in the aviation and hospitality industries; however, they have traditionally been rare in India’s office real estate market. This type of transaction involves a company selling its property to a buyer, usually a real estate investor, while concurrently entering into a lease agreement to occupy the property from the new owner.
The firm has divested its office space, which covers five floors in Magarpatta Cyber City located in Hadapsar, for Rs 177 crore and has subsequently leased it back at an annual rental rate of Rs 16 crore, enabling it to maintain its current workspace.
The sale was executed at an effective price of Rs 10,300 per square foot, while the lease is set at Rs 77.5 per square foot per month. According to documents obtained from the real estate data analytics platform Propstack, the lease agreement includes a provision for a 5% rental increase every 12 months.
This setup enables the company to free up capital that is otherwise locked in real estate assets without interfering with its operations, as it remains in possession of and utilizes the property according to the lease agreement.
The capital obtained from these transactions can be allocated for multiple objectives, such as paying down debt, funding expansion efforts, or reinvesting in essential business functions. By transforming non-liquid assets into liquid capital, companies can improve their financial agility and bolster growth strategies while ensuring uninterrupted operations.
In September, Suzlon Energy, a provider of renewable energy solutions, engaged in a comparable deal for its headquarters, One Earth, located in Pune, as part of its strategy to monetize non-core assets.
By the end of December, WNS employed 63,390 professionals operating from 66 delivery centers globally, with locations in the US, the UK, India, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.
In India, the company has established offices in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Indore, Jaipur, Nashik, Noida, Trichy, and Visakhapatnam.
