The Hindu Business Line : Bharat Hotels to invest Rs 2,300 cr in new properties

Mumbai, Nov. 20 Bharat Hotels, the holding company of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, will invest nearly Rs 2,300 crore in hotel properties in the next four years. This will include its foray in the mid-market segment.

The company, under its luxury brand The Lalit, operates eight properties in New Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Srinagar, Udaipur, Khajurao and the most recent one in Bekal, Kerala.

There are nine more at various levels of development in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Noida (National Capital Region, New Delhi), Amritsar, Dehra Dun and two overseas properties in Dubai and Koh Samui (Thailand). Investments are estimated to be Rs 1,500 crore in these ventures. These hotels are likely to be operational between 2010 and 2012, taking the total number of properties under The Lalit to 17.

As for plans in the mid-market segment, Bharat Hotels is looking at 25 properties till 2014 with investments between Rs 750 crore and Rs 800 crore. Seven of these are already under development and likely to be operational by 2010. These are located in Pune, Drass in Jammu & Kashmir, Jallandhar, Vadodara, Mundra, Maninagar in Gujarat and Bangalore.

“We are looking at some ideas for the brand name and will announce it shortly,” said Ms Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, at a press meet here on Friday.

These hotels will have 25 to 80 rooms and will be classified mostly under business hotels, added Ms Anjali M. Chatterjee, Vice-President, Brand Management, The Lalit.

The company is looking at internal accruals and borrowings for funding the projects. Eexternal commercial borrowings could be one of the routes, said Ms Suri.

Bharat Hotels was de-listed by SEBI in 2003 as the promoter holding was 90 per cent against the listing requirement of 25 per cent public shareholding.

The group plans to hit the market in 2012 for which it could dilute up to 15 per cent of the promoter stake, she said.

“We do not require money as of now. We also want to wait for the right time till the under-construction properties are operational,” she said.

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