Lodha Versus Lodha: Inside a New Brand Battle

If Mangal Prabhat Lodha's elaborate family settlement plan was designed to prevent conflict, it was a grand failure

- Nehal Chaliawala & Varun Sood

When Mangal Prabhat Lodha embarked upon the division of the real estate empire he founded in 1986, the underlying goal was simple: Avoid acrimony in the second generation, which has plagued Indian business families since forever.

Over two years beginning 2015, an arbitrator appointed by the Lodha family crafted multiple family settlement agreements and arbitration awards. Finally, by the end of 2017, family members agreed that the elder brother, Abhishek (45), would take over the reins of the flagship Lodha Developers, while Abhinandan (43), the younger one, would transfer his ownership to his mother, with the assurance that all business would eventually be divided between the two. Abhinandan was also given two businesses, Lodha Ventures and Lodha FinServ, apart from about ₹500 crore.

If the aim was to prevent conflict, the plan was a failure. Less than eight years after what appeared to be succession planning, the two brothers have locked horns.

Macrotech Developers—the listed holding company of the Lodha Group under Abhishek—moved the Bombay High Court on Monday (20 January) seeking to restrict The House of Abhinandan Lodha, started by Abhinandan, from using the Lodha name. On Tuesday, the court asked Macrotech Developers to file the case, again, according to lawyers representing the two factions.

But the battle over the brand is just the tip of the iceberg; the fault lines run much deeper. Ironically, these can be traced back to the 2017 settlement that was designed precisely to avoid such bickering.

THE GENESIS

In a synopsis of the dispute shared on Tuesday, Macrotech Developers argued that a significant increase in debt, between 2008 and 2014, caused stress in the family. Around 2014–15, governance issues were identified in the company's finance department, which was led by Abhinandan Lodha, Macrotech Developers stated.