Mumbai's Linking Road, Delhi's CP most expensive retail spots

Linking Road recorded rents of $ 1,548 per sqm per year, while Connaught Place recorded $ 1,444 per sqm per year

Mumbai's Linking Road and Delhi’s Connaught Place have emerged as the topmost expensive retail destinations across India, according to a recent report by Jones Lang Lasalle (JLL).

The prime south localities in both Mumbai and Delhi recorded 2.5 per cent and 1.1 per cent growth at $1,393 and $1,347 per sqm per annum respectively in rental during the third quarter of this year, compared to same period last year, the JLL retail index report on Asia Pacific said.

Linking Road recorded rents of $ 1,548 per sqm a year, while Connaught Place recorded $ 1,444 per sqm a year for the third quarter of this year.

However, a recent report by another international consultancy firm Cushman & Wakefield had put Khan Market in Delhi as the most expensive retail location with a monthly rental of Rs 1,250/sq ft a month. While Mumbai’s Linking Road (Rs 750/sq ft a month) had emerged as the second most expensive retail location followed by Connaught Place and South Extension for the second quarter this year.

PRIME SLOT

• Mumbai’s Linking Road and Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) emerge as topmost expensive retail locations
• Linking Road rents at $1,548 sq m/year
• CP rents at $1,444 sq m/year
• Slowdown keeping rents low
• Foreign retailers holding expansion due to uncertainty on foriegn direct investment

JLL said while the demand for retail space in the Indian cities of Mumbai and Delhi remains healthy, high street rents have stayed flat this quarter as economic uncertainty has seen retailers resisting rental increases.

According to a person involved in the development, different agencies follow different criteria while ranking locations. The values keep changing and it depends on a lot of variables as well.

Anuj Puri, head of retail, Asia Pacific, and chairman & country head, JLL, says, “As the economy in Asia Pacific continues to improve, retail is once again emerging as a preferred asset class for investors who see consumption as being closely aligned to the region’s growth. China will witness the strongest growth in the retail markets of its top 50 cities, as Hong Kong continues to leverage its proximity to the mainland to fuel its own retail boom. Meanwhile, India still awaits the new FDI regulations to kick-start investment in the market.”

The report also said flat or modest rental growth in India was due to lacklustre retailer demand, more so in the light of foreign retailers continuing to putting on hold their expansion plans in the country because of the uncertainty surrounding foreign direct investment policies.