Sahara India makes international hospitality foray with the acquisition of Grosvenor House in London

Indian diverse-business group, Sahara India Pariwar has acquired the iconic Grosvenor House hotel from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc. Sahara paid 470 million pounds for the luxury hotel. The hotel will now be owned by M/s Aamby Valley Ltd. The acquisition was brokered by Richard Lewczynski of Blandford Goldsmith.

According to Subrata Roy, managing worker and chairman, Sahara Group, the hotel's valuation three years ago was more than 1 billion pounds. "Its current valuation is still quite high though. The deal was sealed after long and strict negotiations and, highly satisfactory due diligence by its erstwhile owners - the Royal Bank of Scotland," said Roy.

With the acquisition of Grosvenor House, Sahara has now forayed into the international hospitality market. The group's current hotel business portfolio in India includes, Hotel Sahara Star near the domestic airport in Mumbai and the luxurious Aamby Valley City spread across 10,600 acres.

He added, "This acquisition is part of the group's ambitious expansion plans going forward. Acquisition of Grosvenor House, will be the gateway for Sahara to introduce some of its new business ventures, internationally."

Royal Bank of Scotland has refurbished the hotel in the past two years and global hospitality major Marriott International has been managing it. However, according to Sahara India management the Group will run the hotel jointly and is confident that Sahara’s Grosvenor House Hotel will take the iconic hotel to new heights.

Located in the prestigious locality of Park Lane in Mayfair, London, Grosvenor House features 420 rooms, 74 suites, 27 meeting rooms providing an incredible 4,000 square meters of high quality space. The hotel also houses Europe's largest and most famous hotel banqueting space, the Great Room. Now that the hotel has been acquired by Sahara, the new owners intend to make Grosvenor House the most sought after destination of London. New additions to the hotel will be in the form of number of restaurants including an Indian restaurant christened 'Namak', a grand bar, good spacious night club, a large business centre, swimming pool, a grand spa with parlors and other facilities.

Founded in 1978 Sahara India has presence in multiple sectors including hospitality, tourism, city development, real estate activities, financial services, housing finance, mutual funds, life insurance, print and television media, film production, sports, information technology, healthcare, commodity sales and services and consumer products.

RIMC Sahil bags management contract for Radisson Blu, three more properties

Looks like revival in the Indian hospitality market is having a rub off effect on third-party hotel management companies as well. While Lighthouse Fund-backed Concept Hospitality has already got its hands full with hotel openings schedule at regular intervals within this fiscal, another company that has picked up a good number of contracts recently is RIMC Sahil Hospitality India P Ltd.

A joint venture between Sahil Hospitality Ltd, Germany-based RIMC International and iNetGlobal Group from Switzerland, RIMC Sahil has bagged management contracts for four projects in the country including global hospitality major Carlson Hotels' upmarket Radisson Blu at Malad, Mumbai. Established in December 2008 and headquartered in Pune, RIMC Sahil Hospitality offers management and consultancy services to the Indian hospitality sector.

According to Vinay Phadnis, chairman, RIMC Sahil Hospitality, bagging management contract for Carlson Hotels' first class full service upscale hotel Radisson Blu is a significant development for the company. Carlson Hotels currently operates over 240 hotels in almost 60 countries under the Radisson brand.

“We have signed a contract with Aspee Group (asset owning company) to manage and operate the hotel. Featuring 266-rooms, the hotel located at Malad (Mumbai) is currently under planning stage and construction work shall commence shortly," said Phadnis. RIMC Sahil was involved with this project from the planning stage and will offer technical know-how during its planning and project stage.

Speaking on the occasion Peter Wagner, Swiss Director, RIMC International, his company will be expanding into new markets in Scandinavia and Slovenia in the coming year. "The International RIMC Group is pleased to see its JV in India taking big strides in different business segments. Signing a number of new agreements from economy to luxury hotels is a clear indication of our growth in the Indian hospitality market," Wagner said.

Elaborating on the other projects signed by the company, Ajit Dharmadhikari, executive director, RIMC Sahil, said, they will also be managing Edelweiss' Fountainhead Leadership Centre at Alibaug. "It is a recently commissioned corporate training and conferencing facility. Spread across six acres, it features 54 rooms and four conferencing facilities in addition to an amphitheatre, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor facilities," Dharmadhikari said.

The hotel operating company is also providing technical consultancy and pre-opening services to a resort and spa project currently under development at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. An upscale 85-room property it will cater to the requirements of leisure travellers and business clientele. The other property in RIMC Sahil's portfolio is a business hotel and mixed use development having 50 rooms coming up at Jalna in Maharashtra. Christened Akul Plazat the project is under construction and is developed by Krishidhan Seeds Ltd.

Ambiguous sales pitch by a few timeshare players adds to buyer’s agony

Sanjay Gupta

Gaps continue to exist in the Indian timeshare space with a handful of companies disseminating misleading information during their sales pitch. While promising the sky, these companies use this tool to entice the customers to buy into their product. However, with branded players entering the market Indian timeshare industry seems to be gradually heading in the right direction. Sanjay Gupta, chairman of Gandhinagar, Gujarat-based company Neesa Leisure Ltd, speaks about the timeshare industry in India, hurdles facing the industry and his growth plans in the coming years. Excerpts…

Could you give us an overview of the timeshare business scenario comparing the current fiscal (YTD) with the previous year?

The industry in India has been growing anywhere between 18-20% year-on-year over the last 5 to 7 years. It is found that Indians are holidaying like never before and lapping up the timeshare concept big way and the numbers are gradually increasing. Our understanding is that the mindset towards holidaying has changed considerably.

Through timeshare, Indians are looking at a lot of new holiday experiences, and are no longer restricted to holidaying at popular destinations. In fact, secluded destinations rank high on the radar of timeshare customers. So a lot of new destinations have opened up and developers are looking at completely unknown locations where they wish to open timeshare properties.

What was the impact of global economic downturn on timeshare – both in terms of memberships as well as business?

Being a resilient product, vacation ownership or timeshare resorts witnessed a steady growth during the global slowdown and with market recovering slowly the industry is back to its heydays.

What in your analysis is the market size of the timeshare industry in India vis-à-vis the developed markets?

The domestic timeshare market is estimated at Rs 500 to 600 crore — still in the infancy stage compared with the US-led world market of $14 billion. However, with the kind of growth we are seeing, the numbers should improve significantly in the coming years.

Has the industry managed to completely change the negative perception of timeshare industry in India?

Many people perceive that timeshare invariably invokes a negative image. It is only in the last 7 to 8 years that the perception towards vacation ownership has transformed – thanks to interest taken by branded hotel companies. Today, vacation product delivers on its promises — creating memorable vacation experiences that is sure to last for a lifetime. Most importantly, the brand hotel companies have developed an important connection between their own brand and the vacation ownership product, which seems to have built confidence among timeshare members.

As far as Cambay Family Holiday Club (CFHC) is concerned, the association with RCI itself speaks volumes of our serious intentions of growing this market. Besides, RCI has come up with set standards in terms of product offerings. Living up to those standards simply mean that the product offerings conform to international standards. This has been demonstrated from the fact that RCI recently conferred a ‘silver crown’ for our Kollam property - Cambay Palm Lagoon and a ‘gold crown’ for the Kukas property - Cambay Spa & Resorts.

What, in your opinion, are the gaps that still exist and need to be addressed?

Gaps exist in terms of misleading information passed on by companies during their sales pitch. Usually during the sales process, companies promise low cost or free of charge hotel rooms, weekend vacation deals or prizes. And of course, some of these are legitimate. However, trouble generally begins when timeshare companies promise to offer freebies such as cars, or sometimes a luxurious vacation. Such promises are just one of the various means and modes adopted by timeshare companies to entice the customers. Unfortunately such promises are never meant to be kept.

Ambiguous sales pitch by timeshare companies only adds to the agony of the buyers.  Also, members land in trouble when they transfer / sell timeshare ownership without studying the ‘fine print’ in detail. So the need of the hour is to bring out overall transparency, thorough understanding of the product bought & how well to utilise and get the best from it

What measures are being adopted by your company to plug the gaps?

Some of the self-initiated mechanisms we have introduced to ensure fair play and boost the confidence level amongst the members include:

- Potential members are strongly recommended to study the ‘fine print’, in detail before signing the document.

- Mystery Audit is conducted on regular basis to ensure and report the service levels.

- CFHC seeks media intervention as well. For instance, media is called upon to experience our properties on first-hand basis, time and again. The unbiased reviews rolled out by the media helps prospective members in decision making.

- RCI has also set standards and procedures to test timeshare sellers’ product offerings. Meeting those standards means the seller is genuine and has legitimate offerings.

How is the target market reacting to these measures?

As per the recent survey, 85% of CFHC members have expressed satisfaction for our services. Moreover, media intervention is working on the positive side for CFHC, as it has helped in building confidence among the members. Plus, Cambay has over 10 properties spread across the length and breadth of the country, so the look and feel factor is always present, unlike other companies which don’t have properties of their own, but still sell timeshare memberships. Such memberships may often not be real.

What are the driving factors for people to buy into the timeshare concept?

Primarily, it offers inflation-free holidays. Secondly, timeshare benefit can be leveraged for 25 years. That apart, there is this newly introduced point system that aids members buy as much or as little points with the RCI / CFHC and accordingly fix their holiday stay. The more points you accumulate, the more enjoyable your vacations will be.

What is the profile of people really buying?

It is widely seen that young executives falling in the age-group of 27 to 40 and newly wed couple are lapping up the membership in a big way. The corporate sector is warming up to the idea of timeshare membership as well.

What are the various benefits derived by the timeshare customer as against traditional ways of holidaying?

Inflation free holidays is a major plus point for timeshare customers. Notwithstanding the soaring prices of holiday destinations which happens every year, the customer has to shell out cash only once, when s/he makes the purchase. In other words, the timeshare customer remains insulated from the volatile nature of the market. Moreover, with the introduction of point system, holidays can be extended. And in fact points can be bought / transferred / shared as well.

In monetary terms how much do they save holidaying through the timeshare concept vis-à-vis the traditional approach?

As a timeshare week owner, your annual maintenance fee equals one week's worth of vacation. If you manage your points effectively you can often get a number of weeks' vacation for one maintenance fee. Besides, the money you shell out ideally is used up within first 5 years of the membership, which means for the remaining 20 years you enjoy free vacations by paying a miniscule maintenance fees.

Of the overall customer base what is the percentage of members actually availing and or getting to avail of timeshare holidays?

Domestic travel forms around 65% of the timeshare vacations sought. As per latest reports at least 1.5 lakh Indian families who own timeshare moved across the country in a year (or six lakh people, if each family has four members). There are 45 players in the vacation ownership industry and it is found that Indians have developed a taste for holidaying like never before and are showing keen interest in the timeshare concept.

Has there been a change in the product offering and pricing? Please provide necessary details?

Keeping in mind the changing customer behaviour, needs and demand, we have introduced an upgraded version of timeshare in the form of RCI points program, i.e. a flexible holiday option program. Indian families are demanding greater value for the money they spend on vacations. Point programs will offer all members around the world, a complete flexibility, in terms of designing their personal holiday package as per their individual needs at the time.

The RCI Points membership assures ultimate vacation elasticity, variety and complete utilisation of the timeshare ownership. The traditional ‘week’ is upgraded into points, which can be ‘spent’ similar to the way cash works. Points can be accumulated and redeemed for an exchange vacation. Unused points can be carried forward to the next year and additional points can be borrowed from next year’s allocation. These points can even be used to buy air tickets, car hire, theme park tickets and more through various Points Partners associated with RCI.

Could you name some of the prominent locations within Indian and across the globe for timeshare?

In the United States the timeshare industry has historically focused on three main areas, Florida, California, and South Carolina. In India, timeshare resorts can be found in Agra, Ahmedabad, Auli, Bangalore, Bhimtal, Binsar, Coorg, Coonoor, Darjeeling, Kollam, Jaipur, Udaipur etc.

How often do the members take a holiday? What is the average length of stay like?

It happens once in a year. And the average length of stay is four days.

Could you provide us details about the various markets that the company has presence in India and overseas.

Cambay Hotels & Resorts has 10 properties across the length and breadth of the country - Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Kollam, Goa and Bengaluru. We do not have properties overseas.

How many properties and the total number of guestrooms that are allocated for the timeshare concept?

About 30% of our properties are exclusively for the timeshare concept.

What are the company's growth plans like for this fiscal and the next?

We already have 10 properties across the country and our currently focus is on the Dahej SEZ, where NLL is the official hospitality partner and is setting up full-fledged three-star hotel with other recreational facilities. At Neemrana, a yet another three- star hotel is coming up on National highway-8. Other plans include hotels in Lucknow and Raipur with an investment of Rs 100 crore. Going forward the company intends establish presence in tier I and tier II markets as well.

Via launches pre-paid cards that assure lowest hotel fares

Planning leisure or a business trip just got simpler with the new product offering from Bangalore-headquartered travel network company – Via. The company has introduced a very innovative over the counter (OTC) offering for hotel room bookings across the country under the brand Via Rooms.

“It's like a pre-paid card used to book a hotel room across the country. The card can be bought from a host of retail outlets and are priced starting from Rs 499 (for dormitory type accommodations) going up to Rs 5,999 for five-star hotel rooms,” said Vinay Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Via.

 From l-R:
Vinay Gupta & Sujit Naha

Among other advantages of using the Via channel for hotels and holiday bookings across the country is that it has a network of over 50,000 registered agents across 1,700 cities. As a result, customers are able to get all the possible on-ground assistance required during their travel including identifying the best mode of travel and its cost.

Via had initially tested a distress hotel inventory sale concept in business to business (B2B) segment during the economic downturn phase. The said model allowed hotels to put their unsold (distress) inventory on Via's network at highly discounted rates to be picked up by travel agents across seeking hotel rooms for their clients. Having tasted success with the earlier concept, the company decided to tweak and extended it to the end user in a business to consumer (B2C) format wherein the end user picks up the pre-paid card or calls up the call center to make his reservations.

In the latter case however (booking through the call center), the end user is required to pay 20% of the hotel room booking cost upfront and the balance at the time of check-in or check-out. The customer also has the option to choose his mode of payment viz. cash, card etc wherein a nearest located Via travel agent will come over to the customers residence and pick up the payment as per the customers convenience.

To facilitate the internet savvy customers, the company also offers the online facility of booking hotel rooms and air tickets through its url www.via.com. The company is also working on an international website to tap the inbound traffic looking to buy hotel and travel products for their India visit.

“The best part however is the pricing which is lowest fares for hotels. Besides, there are no hidden costs to the Via Rooms offering and the price includes breakfast and taxes. So the users are not required to pay a single extra rupee as far as their hotel accommodation cost is concerned,” Gupta said.

Taking the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) model, Via has partnered with 100,000 retail outlets including the likes of Shopper's Stop, Big Bazaar and stores that focus on selling mobile phone airtime across the country. After purchasing the Via Rooms card, the end user is required to call up the travel network's call center and provide card details in addition to the desired location for the hotel accommodation. The call center executive will accordingly provide room availability details / options and proceed with booking the room once confirmed.

“Strict quality checks are conducted even before getting a particular hotel in the Via Rooms network. The end user is thus assured of a certain standard and quality of accommodation in the category s/he chooses to book. Our network across the country includes close to 1,800 hotels and are adding 25 to 30 hotels to the portfolio every week,” Gupta said.

In India, the company is initially focusing on 60 key cities which are largely in the tier I and II category and some leisure destinations with this pre-paid card service. On the international front Via has already launched a pilot in Philippines and is expected to launch in Indonesia within a month. The management is targeting presence in 35 international locations in the next 24 months.

Of the network of 100,000 outlets across India, Via envisages a conversion rate of 10% to 15% in the initial stages thereby selling 10,000 to 15,000 cards on a daily basis. Growing at a CAGR of 65%, the company clocked a turnover of Rs 1,400 crore in the previous financial year and is targeting to close this year at Rs 2,500 crore. With investors in the form of NEA-IndoUS Ventures and Sequoia Capital, the promoters of Via are looking to list the company on the bourses in the coming year.

“We should be kick-starting the process soon and should be ready to go public sometime early next fiscal. In all we would be targeting to raise anything between $300 to $400 million,” said Gupta without divulging whether they will go for domestic or international listing.

Bidding process for hotel sites in MIAL hospitality district to kick-start soon

Now that HVS Hospitality Services has completed the feasibility study and strategic overview of the upcoming hospitality district in North Mumbai, a new intermediary (another international property consultant - IPC) is gearing up for the next step. According to industry sources the new IPC (name not disclosed as yet) is advising Mumbai International Airports Ltd (MIAL) which is developing the airport, and has already started conducting roadshows targeting to launch the bidding process in the coming months.

Industry sources said that the entire MIAL project is a very dynamic one and plans have been improved constantly. “There appears to be more clarity on the development now and hence the advisers are going to the market with it. In fact, roadshows for the same are already on not just in India but a few international markets as well,” the source said.

While all this is being done and various aspects of the project being addressed, MIAL along with the IPC is confident that the bidding process will be launched very soon. “I think sometime in January or first quarter of the coming calendar year, there will be a proper roll-out where expression of interest (EoI) will be invited followed by a professionally managed selection process. Thereafter awarding of the sites to successful bidders done. The entire process for MIAL project will be exactly like it was done for the hospitality district at Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL),” the source said.

MIAL, a joint venture company owned by the GVK led consortium (holding 74%) and Airports Authority of India (holding 26%), was formed March 2006 to manage and develop the Mumbai airport. Earmarking of sites for hotel projects is also part of the airport development plan.

A DNA Money report dated December 12, 2009 stated that 8,000 hotel rooms across 14 new hotels are likely to come up in the vicinity of the Mumbai international airport under the plan to set up a hospitality district by the airport operator. The said information could not be independently verified from MIAL.

The bidding process however, seems to have got delayed by almost a year as it was scheduled to be completed sometime early 2010. Elucidating reasons for the delay, industry sources familiar with the development said the project was being fine tuned and all the sites were being worked up on over the past several months.

“It's a complicated process considering the government is involved and encroachments had to be cleared. In fact, the land parcels are very fragment and there was need to have a master plan super imposed. Besides, some land parcels had to be taken out as certain infrastructure developments are being pursued on those sites. The entire master plan had to be realigned, which I'm told has been done and it's just the last mile connectivity that is currently being worked upon,” said the source.

The source also said that all the gaps in terms of infrastructure near the airport are addressed. Certain missing components like retail, business hotel, other categories of accommodations including serviced apartments, related services like a business center, a health club etc, are being addressed as well. "It's a very comprehensive plan to look at long-term needs but hotels will certainly be a major component. All other facilities will be more of complementary usages,” the source added.

With new airport coming up in Navi Mumbai, concerns are being expressed that the response for the MIAL project from the potential bidders may not be as per expectations. However, the Navi Mumbai airport is still another 7 to 10 years ahead and Mumbai airport continues to act as a critical gateway. Thus, we will to wait and watch the final outcome as and when the bidding process begins and sites get awarded to successful bidders. Till then keep a close watch on this blog for updates.

Helion will stay invested in MakeMyTrip.com

Kanwaljit Singh

A multi-stage private investment firm, Helion Advisors Pvt Ltd (HAPL) has made a couple of investments in the current calendar year. Its first placement was in NetAmbit, a financial products distribution firm based out of Noida in Delhi. A co-investment deal Helion with Bessemer invested Rs 50 crore in the second round of fund raising by NetAmbit. Very recently, Helion invested in a quick service restaurant (QSR) called Mast Kalandar based out of Bangalore. Kanwaljit Singh, managing director, Helion, discusses the firm's investment approach, potential placements within this fiscal and developments with portfolio companies. Excerpts...

Could you throw some light on Helion's investment strategy and sweet spot? Has anything changed in the recent past?

Our investment strategy earlier comprised technology and technology powered companies. However, over two years ago, we added the entire consumer space as our area of interest. This was a big change in recognition of the fact that a big, realistic opportunity existed in the country and it would be interesting to build new businesses in this space over the next five years. While the investment strategy did see some change, sweet spot very much continues to be in the $2 million to $10 million range. The reason being, it gives us flexibility to target very young companies by investing smaller amount as well as look at more mature companies wherein the funding requirement is large. The companies we target for investments are typically in the early to mid stage in terms of their evolution.

You've done two deals thus far. Are there more in the pipeline? Can we see some closure within this fiscal?

We are currently evaluating 5 to 6 deals but haven't closed any yet. A fairly broad spectrum of companies is being looked at for example ventures in the e-commerce space, a couple of them in the education business, retail, healthcare and media companies. While I cannot give out specific numbers, we should be able to close 2 or 3 deals at least. The investment could be anything in the range of $10 to $15 million between the two.

In retail, are you targeting any specific opportunities?

We broadly look at companies focusing on the services aspect rather than a product-based entity. So segments like food and beverages, health and fitness and a few other service areas on an opportunistic basis are being pursued.

A lot of things have changed in the last 18-odd months particularly in the private investments space and more so with respect to portfolio companies in terms of cash conservation and optimising operations. Is the phase over or the pressure continues to exist?

If I break your query into two, the recognition and the focus on conserving cash, being prudent, managing business in a more optimised manner, I'd say the last 18-odd months have taught that lesson. So the generic learning for the industry per se in my view is that, every entrepreneur these days is much more prudent about building a stronger business keeping in mind the growth but not at exorbitant cost.

Having said that, different companies in different stages of evolution will have different priorities. So very young companies will not look at profitability initially and continue investing for growth while more mature companies will largely focus on profitable growth. And there would be a few other companies trying to balance between the two approaches. As for larger businesses are concerned, they would want to look beyond just the core business model.

So it's not a single easy answer to the question of saying whether the phase of focus on cash conservation has gone. I think the consciousness of cash and profitability has increased for everyone. My view is that the focus on profitability as a concept has become much more important now. Overall I'd say it's a crucial lesson learnt by entrepreneurs across the business strata which will be practiced religiously in the years to come.

One of your portfolio companies MakeMyTrip.com went IPO over a couple of months ago. Any particular reason for listing on the NASDAQ and not in India?

There were two or three broad categories for listing overseas. A business like MakeMyTrip.com has some fairly strong global benchmarks and reference points. One of the beliefs of the company board was there will be a better understanding and appreciation of the business of the company there. Second of course is the width and the depth of the investors is much wider when you go to an international exchange and we were advised accordingly that there will be an opportunity to appeal to a larger set of investors and the overseas listing has clearly demonstrated the same.

Generally PE / VC firms tend to exit (partly or fully) when a portfolio goes public, but you continue to hold on to the investment.

We certainly continue to stay invested in the business and hold about 10% stake in the company.

What are your exit plans with this investment?

I can't really comment on what our exit plans will be and the fact that it is liquid the opportunity to exit is always there. We haven't taken a call on this as yet though. Typically, once the company goes public, the avenues for the investors are to sell it in the public market. So it could be trading on the stock exchange, selling to a financial institution interested in buying a block, and so on.

What kind of returns are you sitting on with this investment?

It's been a good listing for us and I'd avoid divulging any numbers.

Given the buoyancy in the current market, what is the best bet between IPO and trade sale as an exit option for PE / VC firms?

IPO versus trade sale is always an option depending on the stage of the company, the opportunity and the market acceptance. And if you look at some of the recent examples, IPOs both in India and overseas have been more rewarding in terms of valuation and market capitalisation. Having said that not every company can go IPO as it needs a certain size and scale and opportunity etc. My understanding is that IPO and trade sale would more or less be on the same footing rather than one below the other.

Are you largely doing pure equity deals or a mix of equity and debt or may be pure debt?

Our mandate and focus is only equity and once in a while or in case of special circumstances we do look at more structured deals that are linked to performance and future targets. We do help our companies if they need to raise debt. However, most of our portfolio comprises young companies for whom debt is not really an option in the initial phase.

Any of your portfolio companies looking to raise more money in the near future?

There are always companies in the market looking for next round of funding. As for our portfolio is concerned, Hurix Systems is looking to raise funds and we are helping them with it. A Mumbai-based entity, Hurix is in the education, publishing outsourcing space. The process has just begun and we are looking at raising anything between $10 to $15 million of growth capital largely to invest in technology and sales and marketing in addition to building a content library. We will be looking at co-investing in this round of fund raising. Another portfolio company that will see fund raising is YLG, which is a salon chain based out of Bangalore. The exercise will begin six months from now so it's a little premature to put a number on the extent of fund raising.

Does platform play also figure in as a growth strategy with any of your investee firms?

I think the possibilities exist with YLG because there are lots of small, local, city level salon chains who will be a very good opportunity to consolidate with YLG. Having said that, we are still in the business building stage, making sure that the YLG model is right and consolidating the operations in the Bangalore market. However, as a growth strategy for YLG over the coming 2-3 years we believe platform play will be one part of the strategy. In fact, the platform play opportunity could be true for a host of our portfolio companies going forward as long as there is a strategic fit with the growth plans.

Helion is currently investing from its second fund isn't it? How much of it has been invested already? Any new fund raising plans in the pipeline?

We have two funds of which the first fund the size of which was $140 million is fully invested. The placements being made now are from the $210 million second fund and we have invested just about 50% of the entire corpus as yet. Our typical pace of investing is anything between 4 to 6 deals in a year. I think we have enough money to invest and new fund raising will take some time to happen may be after we have deployed around 70% or 80% of the second fund.

Liam Lambert steps down as president Oberoi Hotels & Resorts

Liam Lambert has stepped down from his current position as president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts. After serving as director of operations, Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Lambert joined the leading Indian luxury hotel chain (Oberoi) on May 01, 2009.

Liam Lambert

Lambert, an Irish citizen, has been a hotelier for over thirty years working in four continents and ten cities. In his capacity as president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts Lambert was responsible for managing the Oberoi Hotels’ existing and future portfolio and was reporting directly to company chairman and chief executive PRS Oberoi. While Lambert has already distanced himself from the development affairs of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, he will continue to hold office till April 2011.

Confirming the development, Oberoi Group spokesperson said that Lambert wanted to explore opportunities closer home and hence has expressed his desire to step down from his current position with the Indian hospitality chain. "He has moved on from The Oberoi Group to pursue his own interests. He has moved back to Europe, to be closer to his family," said the spokesperson. The Oberoi management is yet to zero in on a replacement for Lambert though.

PRS Oberoi promoted Indian luxury hotel company, East India Hotels (EIH) Ltd plans to raise Rs 1,300 crore through rights issue of equity shares. Owners and managers of 'The Oberoi' and 'Trident' brand of hotels, EIH has already received consent from its board to raise the money. In fact, the board has also constituted a Committee called the Rights Issue Committee to finalise the rights ratio, issue price and all other procedural modalities relating to the proposed rights issue.

The rights issue in the offing, is rumoured to be a part of the arrangement wherein Reliance Industries' acquired 14.12% stake buying EIH promoter holdings for a whopping Rs 1,021 crore. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) chairman and managing director Mukesh D Ambani is very likely to subscribe to EIH's rights issue and strengthen its holding in India's leading luxury hotel company.

Within a few days of acquiring promoter equity, PRS Oberoi's White Knight, Ambani hiked his stake in the luxury hotel chain to 14.8% by acquiring another 0.68% through open market trade. RIL's stake in EIH is held by its subsidiary company Reliance Industries Investment and Holding Pvt Ltd (RIIHPL).

EIH's other shareholder, Y C Deveshwar promoted ITC Ltd on the other hand has not specified its interest in the rights issue. Through its investment arm Russell Credit, the tobacco-to-hotels major has been buying into the Oberoi chain since 2000 and presently holds 14.98% stake. Its current holding is a shade less than the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) threshold limit of 15%, that triggers a mandatory open offer for another 20%.

The analyst community tracking the Indian hospitality sector and more so the RIL-EIH developments however are of the view that RIL and ITC will certainly participate in the rights issue.

However, there are question marks on whether Analjit Singh, chairman of Max India Ltd (MIL) will paricipate in this rights issue. Having already reduced his holding in EIH from 7% to 4% currently, Singh had officially gone on record saying that he was in discussions with Oberoi, to sell his current holding in the company.

Oberoi Hotels and Resorts (www.oberoihotels.com) is an award-wining proprietor and operator of some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and resorts.

Berggruen with Evershine launches Keys Resort in Mahableshwar

New York-based Berggruen Holdings funded Berggruen Hotels launched its brand new upscale resort in Mahabaleshwar. Christened Evershine, A Keys Resort the asset owning company Evershine Builders Pvt Ltd has entered into a management contract with Berggruen under the Keys Resort branding. The property is Berggruen's third brown-field project after Mumbai and Khandala and sixth hotel project in the overall tally if its hotel portfolio in India.

Speaking about choosing the location for their resort, Partha Chatterjee, Chief Marketing Officer, Keys Hotels, Resorts and Apartments said the state-of-the-art property is located in Mahabaleshwar which is a prime holiday destination. "It's targeted at today’s savvy travellers looking for a world class hospitality experience. The resort's architecture coupled with its location amidst the scenic, strawberry covered valleys and lush flora is a very unique offering for leisure travellers seeking a rejuvenating getaway," Chatterjee.

The Mahabaleshwar resort has 59 modern stylish rooms with facilities like Wi-Fi, LCD televisions, a refrigerator, tea/coffee maker, iron and ironing board, direct dialing facilities, comfy-beds, duvets, writing table with ergonomic chairs and refreshing power showers with modern bathroom fittings.

Elaborating further on the unique architectural aspects, Sanjay Sethi, managing director and CEO, Berggruen Hotels, said the resort is a 'palace in the sky' built with dholpur stone cladding and an architectural style of a typical Rajasthani palace with all its opulence. "Besides the leisure market, this resort will largely cater to conference and wedding segments in the market. In fact, it is an ideal resort for high profile family and wedding travellers,” said Sethi.

Speaking about the company's upcoming launches, Sethi said, "Later this month we shall commission a boutique business hotel in Chennai and follow it by the end of the financial year with 224 rooms in Whitefield in Bangalore, in a mix of hotel rooms and serviced apartments."

On the Mahableshwar resort, Sethi said it is replete with facilities catering to the needs of both business travelers and leisure travelers. It has a wide range of specialty cuisine options that cater to á la carte and buffet requests, served at the World Cuisine Keys Café, Pool Side Pizzeria, and Unlock, the soon to be opened Resto Bar.

The hotel management team is also sensitive to the needs of the vegetarian guests. The other facilities available include a Laundry service, 24x7 Business Centre, 24x7 travel concierge, Lawn for outdoor parties, a Kids Zone, an indoor activity center, swimming pool, spa and gymnasium. The resort also helps the guests experience green activities in the area, like camping and trekking along the nature trails.