Peyush Bansal, co-founder and CEO of eyewear retailer Lenskart, has purchased a property in Delhi’s Neeti Bagh for Rs 18 crore, two people aware of the transaction said.
Bansal has acquired the basement and ground floor of the 813-square-yard property and paid Rs 1.08 crore in stamp duty and corporation taxes, as per documents accessed through the data analytics firm CRE Matrix.
Last year, Neha Bansal, co-founder of Lenskart and Peyush’s sister, purchased a 400-square-yard bungalow in Delhi’s Greater Kailash for Rs 22 crore.
“A South Delhi based builder bought the other three floors along with the terrace for about Rs 35 crore in two separate transactions. He will probably redevelop the property and sell the floors individually. He has already sold one third portion to Bansal,” said one person aware of the deal.
In South Delhi, where fresh property is in short supply, builders often take on old properties for redevelopment and sell them at a premium.
In many cases, builders enter into agreements with sellers and, while conducting construction, sell a portion of the property to raise funds.
Bansal did not respond to email queries or text messages until the press time on Wednesday.
Entrepreneurs Siddharth Shah, founder of PharmEasy, Zishaan Hayath, founder of Toppr.com, and Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt, are among startup executives who have recently invested in properties.
“Startup founders have begun to buy luxury properties, giving a boost to the real estate sector. Many have acquired independent assets, while others have also invested in properties in gated communities such as DLF’s King’s Court in Greater Kailash and DLF Golf Links in Gurgaon,” stated an industry expert.
The company founded by Peyush Bansal has more than 900 stores in India and plans to scale up to 1,000 by the end of March. The company expanded to the Middle East and Southeast Asia following last year’s funding round.
Lenskart entered the unicorn club in 2019 after securing $231 million in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund II.
According to the annual Luxury Outlook Survey 2023 by India Sotheby’s International Realty (ISIR), over 75% of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) believe that real estate will perform well over the next two to three years.
Sixty-one percent of HNIs and UHNIs are looking to buy real estate in 2023–24, with high-rise apartments at 34%, closely followed by farmhouses and holiday homes at 30%, being among the most preferred choices for affluent investors.
