EGYPT’S ORASCOM SELLS TWO HOTELS, SIGNS TWO WITH THOMAS COOK

Orascom Development Holding has completed a stake sale in Royal Azur Hotel and Club Azur Hotel, and a land plot in the Makadi destination on the Red Sea, with higher cash proceeds of CHF 22.5 million (USD 23 million), Reuters reported. “We are also in the course of finalizing the documents for the completion of the sale of the Makadi Gardens Hotel which was sold for LE 114.7 million (USD 6.4 million),” the company statement said. The company noted that the proceeds of the sale of the hotels and the land spot, in addition to those of the Tamweel Group, together with parts of the excess cash flow from operations, will be channeled into reducing the debt balance. Orascom Development recently announced that its hotel subsidiary, Orascom Hotels Management (OHM), had signed an agreement with Thomas Cook with total investments of USD 11 million to develop a new, 100-room luxury beachfront hotel property under the brand of Casa Cook El Gouna. The deal also includes rebranding Arena Inn, El Gouna’s 144-room downtown hotel to become a Cook’s Club Hotel. Casa Cook El Gouna, set to open in October 2019, will offer a range of family-friendly accommodation, including two-bedroom villas with private pools and suites with shared pools. Cook’s Club, which is scheduled to open in summer 2019, will cater to a new generation of travelers looking for a stripped-back-designed hotel, with great food and drink at its heart. “We are excited about the partnership with Thomas Cook and El Gouna’s being the first home to Thomas Cook’s newest hotel brands in the Middle East,” said Khaled Bichara, CEO, Orascom Development.