Unitech, the country's second largest realtor by market capitalisation, has finally sold its 200-key Gurgaon Marriott Courtyard hotel property to Roop Madan, a high net worth individual (HNI) based in Delhi.

Roop Madan is the managing director of Sanya Motors, the official dealer of Tata Motors in New Delhi with three car showrooms. Sources said that Madan also owns a small realty venture, Sanya Hospitality, and is one of the investors in the Logix group.

Though Unitech refused to divulge any details about the buyer of the hotel, Madan admitted to buying the property. Madan said, "Yes, it is true that I have bought it and the deal is of nearly Rs 250 crore. There is still some last minute work left but we have made the entire payment to Unitech." Madan said the hotel will begin operations in the next three months.

The property was on the block for four months before the realtor found a buyer. Unitech was seeking Rs 300 crore for it but had to settle for Rs 250 crore eventually. Sources said the sale took some time because Unitech has a loan against the hotel. They said that the developer took loans from HDFC and IDFC against a basket of properties, including the hotel property on which Rs 70 crore is due.

The loan amount was built into the sale price to release the property from the bank. Requesting anonymity, a source said Unitech received the escrow amount in the beginning of the month and 50% of the payment has been made.

Analysts saw the development as a positive for Unitech as the company has been able to sell off its asset even in such tough times. However, the sale may not contribute much towards reducing the debts on its books, they feel.

On the condition of anonymity, an analyst from an international brokerage said if the Telenor money comes before March, Unitech might repay Rs 500 crore to mutual funds debt papers by April.

Pooja Sarkar DNA