PROFILE A host of changes
Vincent Joyner could not have taken over the reins as CEO of Hospitality Property Fund (HPF) at a more difficult time.
When he joined the company in September last year, investor sentiment had hit rock bottom following the surprise sacking of CEO Andrew Rogers, the subsequent resignation of FD Ridwaan Asmal and brewing disquiet among shareholders about the company’s dual share structure.
Moreover, the company had just announced a dismal set of results for the June reporting period due to a fall-off in government spending on conferences and stricter visa requirements for offshore tourists.
But Joyner, whose career in the global hospitality industry spans 24 years, accepted the position without hesitation.
“It was an easy decision. I knew HPF had a great portfolio of quality hotels despite recent management issues. I also believed strongly that the interests of all shareholders would be better aligned by collapsing the dual share structure. And besides, I like a challenge.”
Eight months into his tenure, Joyner, who holds an MBA in international hospitality management obtained jointly at Cornell University in the US and Essec in France, has already made headway in steering the company in a new direction.
In April, the restructuring of the dual structure into a single class share was approved by shareholders.
A linked deal was simultaneously sealed whereby HPF will acquire 10 hotels from Tsogo Sun. Clinching the latter, which will take HPF’s portfolio to 26 properties worth R6.8bn, was a major coup for Joyner.
“The deal is groundbreaking as it gives us scale, diversification and, more importantly, access to Tsogo’s well-established sales and branding network. We hope to bring more Tsogo hotels into the HPF fold with a view to substantially increasing assets over time.”
Investor sentiment also appears to finally be on the mend. The price of Hospitality B shares has recovered nearly 70% from 2015 lows — a clear vote of confidence in Joyner’s pragmatic approach and strong hotel operational background.
Raised and schooled in Ireland, Joyner has lived, studied and worked on three continents and speaks French and Gaelic. But it is SA that he calls home.
“I love the weather, the friendly people and SA’s multicultural perspective.”
Joyner moved to SA in 1997 when he was appointed to head the French-based Accor group’s Formula 1 hotel division in Southern Africa. He later became CEO for all Accor group activities in the region. In 2009, he started a not-for-profit tertiary education venture, Zazida Institute of Entrepreneurship.
Six years later, he bumped into an ex-boss who asked him to consult on a hotel deal. That led Joyner to establish a firm advising global private equity funds on investing in the African hotel market.
Joyner is bullish about the SA hotel sector.
“We’ve already seen a strong uptick in occupancies from December onwards on the back of double digit growth in tourist arrivals from the UK, the US and Germany. Relaxation of visa requirements and the weaker rand no doubt played a role.”
Locals are also taking more domestic trips. In fact, Joyner believes 2016 will be a bumper year for the SA hospitality industry. China contributed over half of the global economic growth between 2009 and 2011 via infrastructure investment, which brought the accumulation of excessive capacity such as in coal and steel. At the time the world was applauding China. Now [the West is] blaming us for overcapacity. Finance minister Lou Jiwei, hitting back at US criticism over its excessive steel capacity.