Pride Hotels Limited (the “Company”), which operates and manages a chain of hotels in India for business travellers, has announced that The Pride Hotel, Chennai, is fully operational now with 115 rooms (59 Deluxe rooms, 33 Superior rooms, 18 Executive rooms and 5 Suites), coffee shop, restaurant and two banquet halls.

Catering to the business executives at the middle and senior management levels, The Pride Hotel, Chennai, is located at a distance of about three kilometres from Mount Road, which is one of the main business centres in Chennai. The property is spread over land admeasuring 9,904.25 sq. ft along with hotel building of 80,000 sq. ft. comprising ground plus ten floors. The car parking and other amenities is spread over land admeasuring 4,147.5 sq. ft.

The Pride Hotel, Chennai, presently has two food and beverage outlets, The Treat and Casablanca. The Treat is a 24 hours coffee shop, which serves breakfast and varied food and beverage items. Casablanca is a fine dining restaurant, which serves a variety of cuisines including Indian and Continental accompanied with live music performance. The Pride Hotel, Chennai has two banquet halls. The individual capacity of each banquet hall is as under: Pavilion (1,612 sq. ft.) --- 150-175 people; Senate (510) sq. ft. --- 35-50 people. The Hotel also has a board room admeasuring 190 sq. ft., which can accommodate 10-15 people for small meetings.

Mr. S. P. Jain, Managing Director, Pride Hotels Limited, said, “With the Pride Hotel, Chennai, becoming fully operational, we have commenced the implementation of a multi-pronged expansion and growth strategy for the south Indian market. The average occupancy and average rate per hotel room in Chennai has been growing steadily over the years. We are also exploring the possibilities of leveraging our expertise and experience in tapping opportunities in marketing and managing hotels owned by others.”

As per the FHRAI & HVS international: Indian Hotel Industry survey 2005-06, the average occupancy of hotels in Chennai has shot up to 78% in fiscal 2006 (up from 61.6% in fiscal 2004), which is higher than other metros such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata as well as the all India average (64.1%).

Mr. Arun Nayyar, Director-Operations, Pride Hotels Limited, added, “We have implemented a multi-pronged strategy for setting up and operating hotels across various cities in south India. Our Chennai hotel is conveniently located to cater to business and other guests. The F&B outlets enjoy independent brand value among clients and we have an experienced management team and motivated work force.”

“We wish to expand our presence in the major cities of south India. We wish to achieve growth through a combination of new hotels and increasing capacities at our existing properties. We shall leverage our expertise and experience in acquiring and managing existing hotel properties. The focus will be on corporate clients and building image and awareness of the ‘The Pride’ brand,” Mr. Jain said while talking about the future strategy.

Pride Hotels Limited operates and manages a chain of hotels under the Brand name “The Pride Hotel” in Pune & Nagpur in Maharashtra; at Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In the four hotels put together, it has 430 rooms and operates 11 food and beverage outlets and 19 banquet halls. It has three subsidiaries namely Indralok Hotels Private Limited, Somti Hotels Private Limited and Pride Beach Resorts Private Limited. It also has an associate concern, Jagsons Hotels Pvt. Ltd. in which Pride Hotels Ltd., holds 22.34% of the Equity Share Capital. With a view to establish its presence in other travel and business destinations in India, it plans to set up hotels in Bangalore (Karnataka), in Mumbai and Alibaug (Maharashtra) and in Goa which are among the key travel destinations for leisure and business purposes. The hotels cater to all segments of guests for business trips, social events or leisure tourism. They are especially geared to cater to the needs of corporate customers at senior and middle management levels. Airline crew also forms an important customer category.

Pride Hotels Limited is proposing an initial public offering (“IPO”) of 5,950,000 equity shares of Rs. 10 (the “Equity Shares”) for cash at a price to be determined through 100% Book Building Process (the “Issue”). The Company proposes to list its Equity Shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange Limited (“BSE”) and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (“NSE”). The Issue comprises a net issue of 5,900,000 Equity Shares (the “Net Issue”) and a reservation of 50,000 Equity Shares for subscription by eligible employees. The Issue and the Net Issue constitute 22.39% and 22.20% respectively of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of the Company. The objects of the Issue are to raise capital to meet the costs of construction of the new projects in Mumbai, Alibaug, Goa and Bangalore as well as capital expenditure for expansion and renovation of existing hotel property at Pune, Ahmedabad and Nagpur. The Book Running Lead Manager (“BRLM”) to the Issue is Edelweiss Capital Limited.

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Note: Pride Hotels Limited is proposing, subject to market conditions and other considerations, an initial public offer of its Equity Shares and has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (“DRHP”) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”). The DRHP is available on the website of SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in; on the website of the BRLM at www.edelcap.com. This press release does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for, any Equity Shares, nor shall it or any part of it nor the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or investment decision. Any potential investor should note that investment in Equity Shares involves a high degree of risk. For details, potential investors should refer to the DRHP filed with the SEBI including the section titled “Risk Factors”. The Equity Shares of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act 1933, as amended or any state securities laws in the United States. This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in any jurisdiction, including the United States, and any securities described in this announcement may not be offered or sold in the United States, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act.

For further details contact:
Ms. Annet Sumitra - Adfactors PR
Tel: 022-22813565