Pride Group plans to expand operations

Looking at an investment worth Rs 300 crore

Dinkar Farwaha - Mumbai

With three existing properties in Pune, Nagpur and Ahmedabad, the Pride Group of hotels has added a fourth five-star to its kitty with the launch of its new hotel in Chennai. The property, earlier called the King's Park, has been revamped into a 115-room five-star hotel and restarted as 'The Pride Hotel'.

SP Jain, the group's chairman, said that it is in the process of developing five-star properties in Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Mumbai and plans to build 14 new five-star hotels in the coming decade. The Bangalore and Goa properties are expected to be set up by the end of 2008. While the construction of the Bangalore property has already started, the Goa property will soon follow. Vivek Pathiyan, its VP (Operations), said, "The land for the Goa property has been bought and it is under construction. Negotiations for the Mumbai and Hyderabad properties are on and we plan to set them up by the end of 2009 and 2010, respectively." The Mumbai hotel, according to Pathiyan, will be built in Powai.

Besides these five-star properties, the company is also building a 125-room resort in Alibaug, which it plans to open by 2009. Meanwhile, after making its presence felt in the west and south, the group is looking forward to leverage its brand and develop properties in the north as well. "We would be building five-star properties in Delhi and Gurgaon once we go public," added Pathiyan. Besides expansion plans, the group is also adding rooms to its current properties - 73 more rooms to its Nagpur property and 50 each to its Pune and Ahmedabad properties. "From 438 rooms we plan to have 1,200 rooms in our five-star properties by 2010," says Jain.

The company is looking at an investment of Rs 300 crore for the above expansions. It will shortly be going public and will be raising a part of its money via IPO. "A well established equity firm will also be investing in our company soon," informs Jain. The company plans to finance the remaining investment through internal accruals and borrowed fund.

The group is also looking to enter the no-frills segment with 'Biznotel' - a 60 to 125 room budget brand that would cater to business travellers. "We would be focusing on cities like Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, and Cochin to name a few," added Pathiyan.