easyHotel signs Master Development Partnership in Middle East
easyHotel plc Master Development Partnership in Middle East easyHotel plc ("easyHotel" or the "Company") (AIM:EZH), the owner, developer, operator and franchisor of "super budget" branded hotels, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Master Development Partnership with MAN Investments LLC (a UAE owned commercial and investment group), to develop easyHotels in the Middle East.
MAN Investments will focus its new developments in the UAE and Oman, and the new easyHotels are expected to comprise new purpose-built assets and conversions of existing hotel and/or office buildings. MAN Investments' development program targets an initial opening of 600 rooms by 2017. Following these openings, MAN Investments are targeting at least 1,600 rooms by the end of 2020.
MAN Investments has already secured land or properties which will accommodate the 2017 openings. For example, the first hotel will be a 300 room easyHotel built in the Bur Dubai area of Dubai. Bur Dubai is recognised as being the trading hub of Dubai and the UAE. This flagship project will mark the start of intensive development under the new Master Development Partnership across these regions. easyHotel will enter into a franchise agreement for each hotel which will be developed.
This partnership has been signed against a backdrop of continued growth in the UAE and Oman and in particular Dubai governmental support for the building of budget hotels, ahead of Dubai hosting the World Expo, Expo 2020. The Dubai Ministry of Tourism is targeting growth of more than 30% in inbound tourism, to 20 million by 2021.
Guy Parsons, Chief Executive of easyHotel said,
"We are delighted to enter into this new partnership with MAN Investments. MAN has established a significant geographical foothold in the region in a number of business areas, many of which are targeted towards value conscious consumers, which makes them a great cultural fit for easyHotel. With land prices currently at a premium, their capacity for speed and scale of development is impressive and a considerable competitive advantage.
"We expect the partnership to drive rapid growth for the easyHotel brand in the Middle East that should deliver further shareholder value. The partnership will greatly improve brand awareness in the Middle East, giving us a platform to consider further opportunities in the region."
A spokesperson for MAN said,
"We are excited to be partnering with the easyHotel brand. We see a significant gap in the budget sector in the entire region. Currently there are no hotel brands offering a combination of great value and superb quality and we feel that easyHotel is perfectly designed to take advantage of this opportunity."
Enquiries:
easyHotel Plc
www.easyhotel.com
Guy Parsons, Chief Executive http://ir.easyhotel.com
Marc Vieilledent, Chief Financial Officer
Investec (Nominated Adviser and Broker) +44 (0) 20 7597 4000
Chris Treneman / David Anderson
Hudson Sandler (Financial PR) +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
Wendy Baker / Emily Dillon
MAN Investments +971 (4) 259 9995
Strategy & Corporate Planning:[email protected]
About easyHotel
easyHotel is an affordable, low-carbon chain of value hotels. It was founded in 2004 by Sir Stelios Haji loannou and is now 79.1% owned by ICAMAP Investments S.à r.l and Ivanhoé Cambridge.
ICAMAP Investments S.à r.l. is an investment fund managed by ICAMAP S.à r.l., an asset management company founded by Guillaume Poitrinal, Harm Meijer and Alexandre Aquien.
Ivanhoé Cambridge internationally develops and invests in high-quality real estate properties. It is a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), a global investment group.
easyHotel is surging its expansion across Europe in the coming years, leveraging the leading easy brand awareness. The company aims to strengthen its presence in key markets such as France, Spain, Germany and the UK, whilst developing in new markets, including Italy, Greece and Poland.
Operating hotels:
easyHotel has an estate of 49 hotels with c.4,900 rooms, comprising 17 franchised hotels (c.1,200 rooms) and 32 owned and leased hotels (c.3,700 rooms)
Hotels:
United Kingdom: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leeds, Liverpool, London Croydon, London Paddington, London Shoreditch, London South Kensington, London Victoria, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Oxford, Reading & Sheffield.
France: Marseille, Nice, Paris Charles De Gaulle Villepinte & Paris Nord Aubervilliers.
BENELUX: Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam City Centre, Amsterdam Zaandam, Brussels, Maastricht, Rotterdam, The Hague & The Hague Scheveningen.
Spain: Alicante, Barcelona Fira, Barcelona Meridiana, Madrid Centro Atocha, Madrid San Blas, Malaga & Valencia.
Switzerland: Basel, Zurich City Centre, Zurich Limmatplatz, Zurich Main Station & Zurich West.
Rest of Europe: Berlin, Budapest, Dublin, Lisbon & Sofia.
