Mumbai-based Pride Hotel Group, which operates four Five Star Hotel properties, today announced it has received a significant equity investment from Kotak India Real Estate Fund, towards part financing a Rs 350 crore expansion-cum-renovation plan.

Pride Hotels expects to utilise the funds towards setting up new Five Star hotels in Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Additionally, the Pride Hotel chain has acquired land at Alibaug, near Mumbai, on which it proposes to set up a resort hotel-cum-Spa.

Speaking of the ambitious expansion plans, Mr. S P Jain, Chairman, The Pride Group said: “With this key investment from the Kotak Realty Fund, we are now close to finalizing the sources of funds for our expansion plans. We have very aggressive plans to set up our Five Star properties in the most lucrative business-segment markets of the country, names, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. We estimate that we will be operating 1150 hotel rooms in the most important metros by December 2009. Given the growth rates in the inbound business travel sector, we expect that these upcoming properties will be cash accretive to the company’s bottomline from the day of commissioning.”

The Pride group operates four Five Star properties, in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chennai, with a total room capacity of 438. The expansion plan also envisages an addition of approximately 50% in the existing room capacity in these properties.

According to the tentative schedule of commissioning of new room capacity, the Bangalore property on Richmond Road, in the main business district, will be operational in early 2008. The Goa property will be operational by December 2008, while the Mumbai and Hyderabad properties will be opened for business by December 2009.

Shri S. Sriniwasan of Kotak India Real Estate Fund-I added “We are delighted with this investment and Pride Hotels provides us an opportunity to benefit the high-growth hospitality sector with an established player and our capital will further accelerate the inorganic and organic expansion of the group”.

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Visit us at www.pridehotel.com

For further information, please contact:

Satyen Jain
Maheysh A Tamhaney
CEO, The Pride Group of Hotels
Senior Group Head, Adfactors Public Relations
T: +91.22.22844051
M: +91.9820326399
satyen@pridehotel.com
maheysh.atamhaney@adfactorspr.com