Standard Chartered leases 7.7 lakh sq ft office space in Chennai

Chennai: In one of the largest commercial realty deals in recent times, Standard Chartered GBS is leasing 7.7 lakh square feet of office space in Chennai for its largest office globally.

The office space is located at DLF Downtown at Taramani in Chennai's IT corridor. DLF has inked an anchor deal with Standard Chartered GBS for their office building.

DLF and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, had entered into a strategic partnership to develop a rental assets portfolio with GIC as one-third partner, under the consolidated portfolio of DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), a subsidiary of DLF.

DLF Cyber City Developers, the joint venture of DLF-GIC and TIDCO, announced the launch of DLF Downtown, Chennai with an investment of Rs 5,000 crore earlier this year.

The building has a wide span of atriums, interconnecting internal staircases, terraces and skylight. It already houses over hundreds of MNCs and top Indian companies.

According to reports, Standard Chartered could pay around Rs 100 crore ($14 million) each year for leasing the space.

As per Knight Frank India, the total office transactions of the eight markets in the September quarter improved and reached 33 per cent of the 2019 quarterly average level. Chennai recorded higher recovery with transactions reaching the level of 57 per cent.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, businesses were compelled to move to work from home as a business continuity process method. The uncertain business environment that followed the initial lockdown, further caused occupiers to assess their office space strategies leading many to postpone their office expansion plans till June quarter. However, with the unlocking in progress, going forward as India edges back economic recovery, the office market dynamics are also expected to improve,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.