Browns Investments acquires luxury hotel in Mauritius

Browns Investment PLC (BIL), under which LOLC’S non-financial services businesses are structured, yesterday announced its move to acquire a luxury hotel in Mauritius owned by PL Resort Ltd.

The acquisition was made by fully owned BIL subsidiary, BI Leisure Holdings FZE, a company incorporated in the UAE.

A stock market filing by BIL said BI Leisure entered into a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire all of the 21,500,000 shares of PL Resort Ltd.

While the 100-room luxury beach resort was valued at US$ 12 million, BI Leisure Holdings acquired the business for US$ 3.7 million, the value after deducting the existing debt of PL Resorts Ltd.

PL Resort is managed and operated by Raddison Hotel Management Company under the Radisson Btu brand.

Browns Group has already expanded its leisure operations overseas with an investment in the Maldives during the past few years.

Nasandhura Maldives, a luxury city hotel with 136 rooms, 118 apartments and a sophisticated retail mall, is nearing completion. This is a flagship property and will be an iconic development in the Male city. Another project in progress in the island of Bodhufarufinolhu with 100 keys, in the Ari Atoll, Maldives is to be completed in December.

Meanwhile, Brown Group signed a shareholder agreement with the Barceló Hotel Group to develop a three-hotel complex in North Male’ Atoll, Maldives, Bodufaru Beach Resorts, which consists of 470 keys.

The total value of the development is estimated at US$ 150 million with Barcelo investing US$ 30 million for a stake of 33.33 percent.

Apart from this shareholder agreement, Barcelo Hotel Group entered into a management agreement to manage BIL’S five leisure properties in Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Having grown its leisure footprint significantly and with the expansion planned for the medium term, Browns Group expects to hold 2,000 plus keys in Sri Lanka and overseas leisure properties to position as an important leisure operator.