DELHI: Even though the New Delhi Municipal Council on Wednesday served a terse eviction notice to Ratan Tata’s Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) to move out of Taj Mansingh “immediately,” the planned auction of one of the most prestigious hotels in Lutyens’ Delhi may have to wait.
Sources in the NDMC told Mail Today, the ongoing legal tangle may discourage several other potential bidders. “It would be prudent to wait till the matter is settled as the hotel may not fetch the right price currently,” NDMC officials said.
A string of prospective bidders – both domestic and international hotel chains – are lined up at NDMC’s doorstep to lap up the five-star luxury property.
These include: Bharat Hotels, EIH, Hotel Leela, ITC, Neesa Leisure Ltd, TajGVK Hotels and Resorts Ltd, among Indian brands. Interested global contenders include: Four Seasons, Accor, Intercontinental, Wyndham, Hilton, Marriot, Starwood, Hyatt, Carlson and Kezidor, etc.
After Delhi High Court last week dismissed IHCL’s petition to stay the auction and renewal of their license, the Tata group declared it would challenge the order in Supreme Court.
It submitted this in a filing to BSE Ltd. (Bombay Stock Exchange) as well. The eviction notice on Wednesday asked IHCL to “clear all applicable dues and handover the possession of the said property immediately.” A similar notice had been given to IHCL on 29 January, 2016, as well to vacate the 1, Man Singh Road, address, within 30 days time.
It further read: ‘Attention is invited to Clause XII of the License Deed dated 18.12.1976. The licensee shall handover the possession of the property within 30 days on the expiry of the license period together with fittings and fixtures and all other installations belonging to the licensor (NDMC) as per the Collaboration Agreement.’
