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HR consultants and serviced apartment operators Laurent & Benon have entered the hotel segment with two properties in Gurgaon.
“Both these properties are owned, but we are looking at the acquisition (owned) and management route for our business going forward,” Mr Aman Syal, Chief Executive Officer of Laurent & Benon, told Business Line .
The company is looking at closing the next fiscal with 40 properties under its fold, he said.
Of these, 10 would be owned by the company, and the rest would be management contracts.
Leisure segment
The company, which invested Rs 14 crore in its first two business hotel properties, plans to invest about Rs 200 crore for the acquisition route.
Laurent & Benon would also enter the leisure segment under management contract, with two heritage properties in Rajasthan — at Alsisar and Jaisalmer. “We are also looking at our own hotels in this segment and are in talks with property owners in Chail, Kasauli etc,” said Mr Syal.
year of consolidation
The next fiscal would be a year of consolidation for Laurent & Benon, he said, explaining that in the first half of 2012-13, the company would “concentrate on growing the business and making it viable”.
By 2014, “we would be targeting 60-80 properties totally,” said Mr Syal.
The expansion would be funded by internal accruals and primary debt.
“We plan to raise debt of about Rs 140 crore, and bring in equity of Rs 50 crore-70 crore,” he added.
In the serviced apartment segment, Mr Syal admitted that the growth was affected by the recession.
The company has about 1,200 serviced apartments now, and targets about 4,000 rooms by the next fiscal-end.
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