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Yatra Capital Ltd, the Euronext exchange-listed real estate investment company, has invested $7 million in Jalan Intercontinental Hotels Pvt Ltd, for a 40 per cent stake. The company is building a 200-room business hotel in Kolkata, which will be operated under the Taj Gateway brand by Indian Hotels Ltd. This is the 14th investment of Yatra Capital in India.
The hotel will be built on a 1.9 acre plot located at the junction of Rashbehari Connector and EM Bypass in Kolkata. EM Bypass is the main arterial road between old and new Kolkata, connecting Kolkata Airport and eastern parts of the city. The hotel will primarily cater to the needs of IT/ITES companies located in and around the IT parks and SEZs coming up in the area.
At present, there are close to 1,500 rooms in the premium category in Kolkata.
Occupancy levels have increased at an average rate of 15-18 per cent over the last few years with average annual occupancy levels hovering around 80 per cent, which is expected to remain at the same level in the medium term, a company statement said. Almost 60-70 per cent of guests in the premium category hotels are business travelers.
Yatra Capital, which manages Euro 220 million ($350 million), is listed on the Euronext in Amsterdam. It raised Euro 100 million ($159 million) in 2006 and Euro 120 million ($191 million) in 2007. Out of this capital, the company has so far invested Euro 174 million, which is 78 per cent of the corpus raised.
Yatra invests in India through the advice it receives from the investment committee of its wholly owned subsidiary K2, and Saffron Capital Advisors Limited (SCAL). This will be Yatra Capital's 14th investment in the country and has two other investments in the hospitality sector.
Yatra had invested Rs 63.44 crore for a 30 per cent stake in another firm Platinum Hospitality Services which will develop a hotel in Bangalore at an estimated cost of Rs 402.62 crore. Yatra Capital had also acquired one of the first India-focused property fund Eredene Capital Mauritius for Rs 99.39 crore in 2007.
Ajoy Veer Kapoor, Managing Director, Saffron Asset Advisors Pvt Ltd: "This is Yatra's third hospitality project and is in line with our commitment to building a strong, diversified portfolio of quality assets. Our investments for Yatra have the potential to deliver across a variety of sectors and locations and we will continue to seek opportunities that will maximise shareholder returns."