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UK: The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group has spent £28 million (Rs244 crore) on a London property that is being restored and converted into a luxury boutique hotel.
The property, which will be opened in late 2014 as The Lalit London, was acquired earlier this in an auction for £15 million, with a £13 million restoration set to start in March 2013. The building, a former grammar school called St Olave’s is near Tower Bridge. It will form part of the One Tower Bridge by Berkeley Homes.
Jyotsna Suri, chair and managing director of parent company Bharat Hotels, said: “We had been looking for a property in London for almost last six years but could not find one which would suit our investment potential. Despite the slowdown in western countries, London has not shown any drop in occupancy. Also, we are entering a high-end boutique segment, where there aren’t many properties like this. We wanted to have a small high-end property where investment is not so high and which would start giving us higher returns quickly.”
The company predicts The Lalit London will achieve break-even within three years of opening, with average room rates of between £158 and £250, and an expected occupancy of 85 per cent.
In India, the group will has plans for four luxury hotels and 25 mid-market hotels over the next three to five years. It also has properties in Dubai and Thailand.
“Our focus is development of our properties in India. We are entering the mid-market segment with 25 hotels under our new brand Lalit Traveller in next five years,” said Suri. “We have already a Traveller property in Jaipur and we are looking at properties in Amritsar, Pune and Dehradun by 2014.”
www.thelalit.com
