Berggruen Hotels is gearing up to expand its endeavors in India by proposing to establish 8 to 10 four-star hotels, thereby complementing its prior investments aimed at developing budget hotels, service apartments, and resorts under the esteemed Keys brand name.
The upscale hotels are projected to be launched within a span of 4 to 5 years, which would elevate the company’s total investment in India to a staggering Rs 2,100 crore. Chief Marketing Officer Partha Chatterjee remarked, “We launched operations in India in 2007 with budget hotels as this was the ideal segment to enter. We are now finalizing the upscale concept to be launched here, and the model will be replicated in the international markets.”
Berggruen Hotels, backed by New York-based Berggruen Holdings, which manages billionaire hedge fund guru Nicholas Berggruen’s personal investments, is channeling $200 million in equity into this project, with the remainder sourced through borrowings, as per Mr. Chatterjee.
Currently, the construction of seven budget hotels is in progress, and the work at an additional eight locations is expected to commence this year. Back in 2007, Berggruen had detailed plans to set up 38 budget hotels across the nation with an investment of $100 million.
The inaugural budget hotel is anticipated to open its doors in January 2009, situated in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, while the first four-star property is expected to be launched a year later at the picturesque Valsao beach in Goa.
In an exciting development, Berggruen has engaged the services of renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban to design the four-star hotels. “We expect to have around 4,500 rooms under operation by 2011,” Mr Chatterjee projected, with a forecasted turnover of Rs 350 crore by that time.
Apart from this venture, Berggruen Holdings has also diversified investments in India encompassing an equipment rental company, a vocational education provider, a car rental enterprise, and real estate development projects, alongside ventures in the stock markets.