UBS joins list of star tenants in GIC-backed Mumbai tower: sources

The bank will move staff to the Altimus, a building jointly owned by GIC and India’s K Raheja

UBS Group is taking up new office space in a Mumbai skyscraper backed by GIC early next year, people familiar said, joining a list of high-profile tenants.

The bank will move staff to the Altimus, a building jointly owned by GIC and India’s K Raheja, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private.

UBS’s new space is designed to accommodate employees from the recently integrated Credit Suisse, one of the people said.

“Altimus will be an additional strategic office location for UBS business entities in addition to our existing offices,” the Zurich-based bank said in a response to Bloomberg News.

UBS joins other prominent financial firms such as KKR, TPG, Morgan Stanley and Barclays at the 41-floor tower overlooking the Arabian sea in the district of Worli, which is emerging as a finance hub.

K Raheja, which manages Altimus, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday (Nov 7).

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UBS will be on the 29th floor and take up about 35,000 square feet (3,251 square metres) at the Altimus, the people said. The firm is paying 460 rupees (S$6.75) per square foot, one of the people added. That works out to about US$11 million over five years.

UBS has the option to extend its lease by another five years, the person added. It has 24,000 employees across its technology centres in India.

UBS’s current Mumbai office is in Mukesh Ambani-backed Maker Maxity, a pricier option. Apple renewed its office lease in Maker Maxity at around 660 rupees per square foot in September, according to the Economic Times.

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Similarly, BNP Paribas leased space at a monthly rent of 811 rupees a foot in March, according to the Business Standard.

“Space choices within Maker Maxity may be limited, while buildings like Altimus provide more flexibility” said Raja Seetharaman, co-founder of Propstack, a real estate data analytics firm.

UBS and Credit Suisse units were merged into one India group in April, according to a firm statement. BLOOMBERG