NEW DELHI, India: IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), the
world's largest hotel group by number of rooms, has signed a joint venture
partnership with Duet India Hotels Group (DIHL), the hotel investment arm of
global asset manager Duet Group, to develop 19 new Holiday Inn Express hotels
across India.
IHG will invest through a 24% equity stake, making a multi-year
investment of US$30 million into the partnership. This investment will go
into a fund to support the building of the 19 hotels over the next five
years. These 19 Holiday Inn Express hotels will add approximately 3,300 rooms
to IHG's current India development pipeline of over 10,000 rooms (46 hotels)
and are expected to be operational by 2016.
Richard Solomons, IHG's Chief Financial Officer and Head of Commercial
Development, said, "This deal is a great example of our strategy in action.
By investing a small amount of our own capital we have established a
strategic relationship with a fantastic partner who knows the market,
securing a future fee stream and opening up a huge opportunity for us to
develop the Holiday Inn Express brand across India. With strong economic
growth and an expanding middle class in India, we forecast strong future
demand for mid-market and select service hotels, cementing Holiday Inn
Express' position as one of the fastest growing brands in the hotel
industry."
Upcoming Holiday Inn Express hotels will be primarily located in India's
major metros and key secondary cities, which are well positioned to drive
growth and continued investment opportunities including New Delhi, Mumbai and
Bangalore.
"This venture marks a significant milestone for IHG. With these 19 new
signings, we continue to add momentum to our current India development
pipeline. IHG is strongly positioned to build a significant India footprint
with a growing presence in India's key business and leisure hubs. Overall, we
are on track to have a 150-hotel presence by 2020. The Holiday Inn Express
brand will address the need for internationally branded and high-quality
hotels for domestic travellers," said Jan Smits, Chief Executive Officer of
IHG Asia Australasia. "Across the region, over the course of 2010 we signed
new Holiday Inn Express deals in key locations including India, Singapore and
Thailand. The growing presence of Holiday Inn Express in this region
strengthens the brand's portfolio and introduces the brand to new guests."
Holiday Inn Express is one of the fastest growing hotel brands in the
industry, opening on average two hotels a week globally. There are now 2,075
Holiday Inn Express hotels open and 494 hotels under development around the
world. In India, over 75 percent of IHG's India pipeline is with the Holiday
Inn family of brands.
Henry Gabay, Co-founder and Chairman, Duet Group, said, "We are extremely
excited to partner with IHG and bring the fast-growing Holiday Inn Express
brand to India. Mid-market hotels are the core focus of our hotel business in
India and this deal will support the expansion of our growing hospitality
development portfolio to its targeted 5,000-6000 rooms from 1,250 rooms
today. IHG's 48-year track record in and continued commitment to India as
well as Holiday Inn Express' strong brand presence and proven product
globally make it an ideal partner for a fully integrated hotel development
company like DIHL."
"The mid-market hotel space in India offers a compelling investment
proposition given favourable demand-supply dynamics and an attractive build
cost to operating returns equation. The strategic partnership with IHG
provides DIHL with a strong platform to tap the full potential of this
opportunity," said Anuj Gupta, Managing Partner and CEO India, Duet Group.
IHG hotels in India
InterContinental 4 open with 2 in the pipeline
Crowne Plaza 3 open with 9 in the pipeline
Holiday Inn 5 open with 28 in the pipeline
Holiday Inn Express 0 open with 7 in the pipeline*
* The IHG-Duet joint venture will see 3 active developments at the
inception, with more developments being added progressively
Current Size: 12 Hotels and 2191 rooms
Notes to editor
About Holiday Inn Express
Holiday Inn Express is a fresh, clean, uncomplicated hotel choice
offering convenient, comfortable and affordable hotel accommodation
throughout the world, for both business and leisure travellers. One of the
fastest-growing hotel brands in the world, Holiday Inn Express has
successfully built a niche for itself within the select service segment,
positioned to meet the increasing demand for hotels that deliver on both
quality and service, at a great price point.
Holiday Inn Express continues to distinguish itself in the market with
innovative services and amenities, and a proprietary service culture that
trains our employees to deliver genuine. Designed around travellers' needs,
Holiday Inn Express offers everything required for an uncomplicated stay.
More than just friendly service and stylish hotel rooms, guests enjoy
high-speed Internet access, complimentary breakfast, large showers and cosy
bedding that will leave them relaxed and recharged.
About IHG
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is the
world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHG franchises, leases,
manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, over 4,400 hotels and more
than 640,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world.
The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands
including InterContinental(R) Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo(R), Crowne
Plaza(R) Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn(R) Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn
Express(R), Staybridge Suites(R) and Candlewood Suites(R) and also manages
the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club(R) Rewards with 56
million members worldwide.
IHG has almost 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline, which is
expected to create 160,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is
incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.
IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at http://www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at http://www.priorityclub.com. For our latest news visit http://www.ihg.com/media, Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ihgplc or YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ihgplc.
About DIHL
Duet India Hotels Group (DIHL) is an established owner, developer and
asset manager of internationally managed and branded full service business
hotels pan India. Its current portfolio comprises 1,250 rooms (7 hotels) of
which 2 hotels are operational and 5 hotels are under development. The
company is targeting to expand its portfolio to 5,000-6,000 rooms within 5
years positioning it amongst the leading hotel owners/developers in India.
DIHL was founded by UK financial group - Duet Group.
About Duet Group
Duet Group is a client-focused financial group specializing in
Alternative Asset Management that is dedicated not only to generating
superior investment returns, but also to delivering risk management,
transparency and client service required by sophisticated investors. Duet
Group was founded by Henry Gabay and Alain Schibl in June 2002 in London and
has USD 2.4 billion of equity under management. Anuj Gupta joined as Managing
Partner and CEO India in 2006 and Osman Semerci joined as Managing Partner
and CEO Duet Group in 2008. Duet Group employs 75 professionals in London,
New York, Tokyo, Singapore, New Delhi, Dubai and Istanbul.