Tata tussle puts spotlight on Hanno’s TVS deal as filings reveal 29-year lease, build-to-suit structure

The commercial relationship between TVS Motor Company and Hanno One Warehousing, a company run by family members of Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, appears to be broader than previously reported, according to filings reviewed by YourStory.

Hanno One Warehousing was incorporated in March 2025. The company's board includes N Chandrasekaran’s wife Lalitha Chandrasekaran and son Pranav Chandrasekaran.

According to MCA records, the company is into storage and warehousing activities, including general merchandise warehousing and storage of goods such as automobiles, furniture, chemicals, and textiles. Its annual report describes a business model centered on acquiring or leasing land and developing light-industrial buildings to customer specifications under a build-to-suit model.

Hanno’s first annual report, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) records, and approved project plans show that TVS Motor leased 17.41 acres in Uddanapalli village in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district to Hanno for 29 years. The filings also provide details on the roughly Rs 106 crore project, including its proposed financing, and show that Hanno is exploring a similar build-to-suit model in Mysuru.

YourStory sent questions on Wednesday night to Hanno One Warehousing, TVS Motor Chairman Emeritus Venu Srinivasan, TVS Motor and Tata Trusts. The queries sought clarity on how Hanno was selected for the project, whether there was a competitive process, the commercial rationale for the arrangement, disclosure of the relationship, and whether recusal was considered during discussions around Chandrasekaran’s reappointment. Tata Trusts’ response is included later in this story; responses from the others will be incorporated when received.

The documents add detail to a commercial relationship that has come under scrutiny amid the governance dispute at Tata Sons. Srinivasan is a Tata Sons director, vice-chairman of Tata Trusts, and a member of Tata Sons’ Nomination and Remuneration Committee, which reviews the Tata Sons Chairman’s performance. He supported N Chandrasekaran’s fresh five-year term at the September 17 board meeting, while Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata opposed the reappointment.

The TVS-Hanno relationship was first reported by Mint, which said TVS Motor had leased around 17 acres in Krishnagiri to Hanno three months after the company was incorporated. Tata Sons has said Hanno’s incorporation was disclosed in April 2025 to companies where Chandrasekaran serves as chairman, and maintained that the specific TVS transaction did not require separate disclosure because TVS Motor is an independent listed entity with no dealings with Tata group companies.

How the TVS-Hanno deal is structured

For the Krishnagiri project, TVS Motor leased 17.41 acres to Hanno for 29 years. Hanno subsequently entered into an agreement with TVS Motor, identified in the annual report as its client, to construct a 3,30,418 sq ft industrial shed on the same site. Once construction is completed, TVS is expected to occupy the facility and pay rentals to Hanno. The arrangement therefore appears to make TVS both the lessor of the underlying land and the customer for the facility Hanno is developing on it. Hanno expects rental income from the project to begin in November 2026.

Hanno’s annual report says Pragati Infra Solutions was appointed as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for Rs 76.85 crore, excluding GST. MCA charge records reviewed by YourStory show a Rs 60 crore charge registered in HDFC Bank’s favour. The remaining funding is expected to come through a combination of equity, borrowings from a director, compulsory convertible debentures issued to shareholders, a security deposit from the customer and bank financing. The filings provide a fuller picture of the financing behind the project, alongside the lease tenure, escalation clause and expected commencement of rental income.

Rs 10.86 crore borrowed from a director

Hanno had paid-up equity capital of Rs 10 lakh during the period covered by its first annual report. The filing says the company borrowed Rs 10.86 crore from one of its directors to partly finance the Uddanapalli project and fund the acquisition of industrial land in Mysuru. The section detailing the borrowing does not identify which director provided the money.

YourStory has asked Hanno to identify the director who extended the loan and clarify its terms. The company has also been asked how the TVS arrangement originated and whether other developers were evaluated before Hanno was selected.

Approved plans show a broader industrial complex

Separate approved building plans reviewed by YourStory provide a more detailed picture of the development at Uddanapalli. The plans show the project spread across survey numbers 475, 476, 477, 478, 834, 835/2B, 839/1, 840/1, 841/1, 842/1A, 918/1A and 918/2B2. They provide for a 28,072 sq m factory building, 2,952 sq m of mezzanine office and canteen space, a 4,229 sq m storage building and supporting infrastructure. The total built-up area shown in the plans is about 35,647 sq m, or roughly 3.84 lakh sq ft. The development is classified as an Orange-category light engineering industry, excluding fabrication and forging.

The site plan also provides for an electrical substation, sewage treatment plant, fire-water tank, creche, internal roads and parking for 44 lorries and 430 two-wheelers. The machinery power requirement is listed at 1,500 kW. The roughly 3.84 lakh sq ft total built-up area shown in the approved plans is higher than the 3,30,418 sq ft industrial shed cited in Hanno’s annual report. The reason for the difference is not clear from the documents reviewed. It could reflect office, storage or utility areas that are not included in the industrial shed figure. YourStory has sought clarification from Hanno.

Hanno looks beyond TVS

The annual report also suggests Hanno is looking beyond its first Krishnagiri project. The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board has allotted the company industrial land in Immavu, Mysuru, costing about Rs 27 crore. Hanno had paid Rs 7.91 crore towards the land as of the reporting date and said it was in discussions with prospective clients to develop industrial sheds and lease the facilities under the same build-to-suit model.

The filing says the company intends to increase its operations and asset base over the coming years. The Mysuru allotment suggests Hanno is looking to replicate the model beyond the Krishnagiri project. The scale of the proposed Mysuru development and the identity of potential customers have not been disclosed in the filing.

The governance question

The TVS-Hanno relationship has attracted attention because Srinivasan participated in the Tata Sons board process concerning Chandrasekaran’s reappointment. The disclosure question remains contested. Tata Sons’ position is that Hanno’s incorporation was disclosed and that the specific TVS transaction did not require disclosure to Tata Sons.

A Tata Trusts spokesperson said in a written statement to YourStory that no disclosures were made to the trustees with regard to Hanno One Warehousing/Hanno Infra and TVS Motor by Srinivasan. The spokesperson said the Trusts had also been “given to understand” that no such disclosures were made to the Tata Sons board, but could not definitively comment because the Trusts do not have independent access to the board’s proceedings, apart from their nominee directors having access to board papers. The spokesperson added that if the allegations are proven to be true, Tata Trusts would evaluate the nature of its institutional response and act appropriately.

The wider disagreement between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts extends beyond Hanno. It also includes Chandrasekaran’s reappointment, the proposed listing of Tata Sons, and broader disagreements over governance and shareholder rights.