Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) on Friday retained the iconic Taj Mansingh hotel in NDMC auction. Taj group won the Mansingh property in an e-auction at 3.2 percent of gross turnover, PTI reported. India’s leading hospitality chains Indian Hotels Company and ITC Hotels today faced off a bidding war to own the rights to run Taj Mansingh.
Located in the heart of the national capital, the 292-room luxury property has seen much interest from only two players despite several rounds of e-auctioning held by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). The auction began on 11 am and ended at 4 pm today at a licence fee of Rs 7.03 crore per month.
“The Tata group’s Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) has retained the property at a license fees of Rs 7.03 crore per month including GST. Earlier, they were paying Rs 3.94 crore per month as license fees,” PTI reported citing a senior NDMC official.
The hotel was given to the Tata group in 1978 on a 33-year lease, which ended in the year 2011. Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company Limited had since received nine temporary extensions.
Earlier in the month of August, NDMC had relaxed the criteria for bidders Taj Mansingh hotel auction failed to take off in the previous two attempts.
The auction of iconic hotel was put off twice as it got less than the required number of bids. Following the first auction (January 30) failed to attract the required number of bidders, NDMC floated a tender with less stringent technical conditions scheduling an auction for June 19. But, this too attracted only one bidder and had to be annulled on June 14. Nevertheless, there was no further relaxation on the conditions in the current tender.