IHC To Spend One Billion Dollar On Buying Hotels

Indian Hospitality Corporation (IHC), a joint venture of Gordon House Hotels, Mars Restaurant and SkyGourmet Catering formed last year, plans to spend as much as $1 billion to acquire hotel groups and restaurant chains.

The company has hired Ravi Deol as chairman and chief executive of Mars Restaurants, the hotel and food services division of IHC, to initate acquisitions. Deol is the former managing director of Barista and ex-chief executive of FieldFresh Foods.

Mr. Deol told, “We are looking to add 2,000 hotel rooms across 17 cities, including metros and towns such as Lucknow, Amrtisar, Raipur, Chandigarh among others. We may acquire hotel groups having 5-7 properties. We are also looking at acquiring restaurants or restaurant chains and then take them to the leadership position”.

All these acquisitions will be done by Mars Restaurant. Mr. Deol said”We may go for a rebranding of an existing hotel chain as and when we acquire them”.

IHC has formed a $200-million ‘hospitality opportunity fund’ and $220 million worth of warrants to be converted into equity. The balance amount will be raised by selling equity or through borrowings.

Mars Restaurants has brands Such as Tendulkars’ (a 50:50 joint venture with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar), China Joe, The Pizzeria, Dosa Diner among others, while Gordon House is a venture of Mars Restaurants and currently has three properties in Mumbai and Pune. The acquisitions will add to the portfolio of Gordon House hotels.

The Indian leisure and hospitality industry is set for high growth, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. According to industry estimates, the Indian hotel and hospitality industry generates foreign exchange earnings of Rs 35,000 crore each year in addition to Rs 10,000-12,000 crore generated from Indian customers.

The market size of branded fast-food and dine-in restaurants is estimated at over Rs 600 crore. This segment is grwoing in double digits annually attracting players like IHC.

According to sources, popular north Indian restaurant chain Nirulas along with Clarks hotel chain may be on the radar of IHC for acquisition and subsequent re-branding.

On the air-catering front, IHC is looking to expand SkyGourmet to 11 cities from six metros at present. SkyGourment will soon set up its air catering facilities in Kochi, Jaipur and Amritsar among other cities.

Mr. Deol said, “We will also expand our air catering services globally when Kingfisher goes international. We are already catering for Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Air India Express, Indian Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Air France. We are looking at providing catering to Emirates and Lufthansa too”. Sky Gourmet was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Mumbai and employs about 1150 people.

Country Club Acquire Properties In Tier-II Cities

Country Club India (CCIL) has pronounced the getting hold of properties in Tier II cities. Driven by its focus on pan India presence, CCIL has added Lucknow, Jaipur, Indore, Surat and Pune to its fold taking the total to forty four own clubs in the two hundred two club network including franchisees.
Y. Rajeev Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, CCIL, told on 11th June that plans were on the anvil to invest one hundred crore rupees in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to strengthen its functions. Elaborating on CCIL’s development plans abroad, Mr. Reddy said the acquisition of Chelsea Hotel (now re-christened Country Club Dubai) was a significant part of its one thousand one thousand crore rupees strategic expansion plan in the next three years.
The Dubai property, acquired at a cost of One hundred seventy five crore rupees, was fully operational, he said. CIIL had made its foray into satellite clubbing under its brand Country Klub 2007 (CK 27), a concept for intra-city penetration. The first one, developed over forty thousand sq. ft. in Surat, was already operational. A 2nd such club in Koramangala (Bangalore) has been announced. The company has also initiated a global card which entitles members to a host of privileges at the newly purchased Country Club Hotel in Dubai and other CCIL properties. CIIL has initiated a project in association with Kairali Group for medical tourism and has lined up more similar projects

Houses On Rent In Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a city with plenty of options available as per the rental market is concerned. The real estate trade has scaled new heights and to attain the break-even to the supply side. Chandigarh is one of well developed cities in India. As a result purchase of an own house to a common man has become a costly affair. This scenario aids the rental market in the city which is already on an upswing. Since this city is capital for both the states of Punjab and Haryana, many people would prefer Chandigarh as the destination for self-upliftment. Many prestigious educational institutions are also present here. Many parents, for sake of better education for their children are now shifting to Chandigarh. All these people need space to live in which again is providing a great feed back to the rental market.

The city of Chandigarh also has accounted well on the feed back and is equipping itself with surplus rental properties. Many flats or apartments have come up in the recent times only to provide rental service. Also many upcoming ventures are slated to serve the same purpose. In the interior of the city, many properties have undergone lucrative face lifts and appealing for better rental options. The range of rental homes starts from single bedroom flats to independent luxurious bungalows or villas. Each range of accommodation is planned to meet a certain budget and expectations. One can go around the city and choose a house on rent which is apt for his budget, requirement and lifestyle. Some builders have taken up the business of undertaking or constructing residential properties so as to lend them on lease or on rent. With so many options one might not be able to decide on which house and locality, he wishes to stay. Then an expert who takes care of rental formalities and also helps the person in finding best value for his money is much needed. Many websites are providing this brokerage service for minimal commissions which solve the problem to a great extent.