Sushil Ansal’s competitors in High Rise Constructions

One of Sushil Ansal competitors in high rise constructions in Delhi at that time was the upcoming M/s Skipper Builders headed by Shri Tejwinder Singh. Sushil Ansal admired Tejwinder’s aggression and his meteoric rise in the real estate sector, finding in him a tough competitor. In one prestigious auction for a plot at Jhandewalan, Sushil Ansal sensed that competition may lead to unviable bidding. He rang up Sardar Inderjit Singh, the legendary Chairman of Punjab & Sind Bank to mediate with Tejwinder Singh and avoid competition, ensuring a collaborative bid.

In the meeting at Inderjit’s house, “I suggested that we could save crores of rupees by joining hands and avoiding competitive bidding by buying plot in a neutral company’s name and then dividing the complex in two equal halves or have some other collaborative arrangement to our mutual convenience,” says Sushil Ansal. However, despite Inderjit Singh’s advice, Tejwinder Singh refused and said he was adamant to own the project at any cost.

As a result, the competitive bidding went high, beyond any sensible calculations. Tejwinder Singh came out victorious. Unfortunately, the unworkable price proved to be a disaster. This inappropriate bid started Tejwinder Singh’s downfall and ultimately his company went into liquidation, with several types of litigations against him and his company. “One lesson I learnt was never to do business to satisfy one’s ego,” ruminates Sushil Ansal. “The Skippers’ going into liquidation affected the image of the real estate industry. I feel sad till today for Tejwinder Singh; though a competitor Place. The bidding was very tense. Mr. C.L. Verma of Continental Construction, Mr. Amrit Singh Bhandari of Bhandari Builders and the Ansals were in the race. Some sense prevailed and the three on the spot decided to join hands together rather than indulge in mad bidding.

“Jagdish Sood approached me to see if he could also join as a fourth partner. We agreed and after buying the prestigious plot, I reached home. Kusum and my mother were unhappy: they asked why I am entering into the hotel business where a lot of chicken and cow meat is served, gambling takes place, etc. All my explaining did not help but I never wanted to annoy my mother and wife. I preferred to buy peace at home. A few weeks later I surrendered our share in favor of Sood & Company,” relates Sushil. Later on Mr. Bhandari and Mr. Verma also sold their shares to Sood, who built today’s Intercontinental Eros Hotel. “It took me a few years to convince my family to allow us to enter the hospitality business. It was only in the year 2002 that we successfully built Marriot Welcome hotel in Saket District Centre,” says Sushil.