Zuri to offload 20 percent stake to private equity players

KOLKATA - Zuri Group Global, whose businesses span across three continents with interests in hospitality, floriculture, real estate and green energy, is planning to offload at least 20 percent stake to private equity (PE) players, a top company official said Tuesday.

“We are planning to offload 20 percent stake. We are in talks with two PE players,” Abhishek Kamani, director, told reporters here.

The group is restructuring its hospitality business into three luxury collections- platinum, lifestyle and comfort- to gain more foothold in the Indian hospitality market.

A multinational conglomerate promoted by a consortium of investors from the Middle East, the group, however, declined to name the PE players or the timeframe for offloading the stakes.

“We are also planning for an IPO (initial public offering) in the next three years but we will look into the PE options before IPO,” he said.

Asked about the size of the IPO, Kamani said the valuation has not been done yet and the size would also depend on the market condition during that time.

Zuri Group Global has four hotels in India - two properties in Goa, one each in Kumarakom (Kerala) and Bangalore (Karnataka). It has two properties internationally, one in Kenya and the other in the UK.

The company with Rs.250 crore turnover now is looking at doubling it in the next five years to Rs.500 crore, he said.

It targets to clock 30 percent more turnover this fiscal (2010-11) riding on better bookings.

“We are planning 10 new hotels in India, both organically and inorganically, in the next five years,” he said.

He said the focus places would be Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai.

To strengthen the brand name, the company plans to grow in the management contract business more than owning properties.

“Of the total properties we would own in 5 years we are looking at owning one-third of it and two-third management contract,” Kamani said.

So far the company has invested Rs.1,000 crore in India.

Of the four properties it has in the country, the company owns and manages all. The company Tuesday launched its first management contract model business in Sikkim - The Retreat.

The Retreat by Zuri, Baiguney, Sikkim, is currently a 21-key resort, which the company aims to expand to over 50-key resort.

The Bangalore-based company is also in talks with two hotels in the city for management contract model. But he declined to name any of the hotels.