Kwality plans private equity for expansion

Delhi-based Kwality Restaurants, a Rs 78-crore restaurant chain, is looking at opening its restaurant outlets at hospitals across the country.

The company will be opening outlets of its restaurants""Kwality and Chopsticks Express""and its bakery business, Bread and More, at these hospitals.

At present, Kwality has taken its chains of express restaurants operating at Gangaram Hospital, Max Hospital and Apollo Hospital in New Delhi.

It is looking at bringing this concept to hospitals in Mumbai and other cities too. By this year end, the company plans to open another four restaurants in high-end hospital premises.

Dhruv Lamba, executive director, Kwality Group said, "Hospitals have a big captive audience. After we started outlets at hospitals in New Delhi, we got a positive response from people and we are now thinking of expanding this concept to other cities."

Investment in each restaurant outlet costs Kwality Rs 20-50 lakh depending on the restaurant area. However, investment in its Bread and More outlet costs it Rs 70 lakh as it exports equipments from Germany for setting up the same.

These restaurants and bakery outlets at hospitals will offer standardised products at reasonable cost to the customers.

For this purpose, the company has established a commissary with an investment of Rs 5 crore at Noida which will supply the restaurants with quality and hygienic food.

"With boom in medical tourism, hospitals are looking at having better facilities. It pays to have a branded restaurant in a hospital specially when people look for good, hygienic food," adds Lamba.

To fuel its expansion plans in India and abroad with regard to its Gaylord and Kwality restaurant brands, the company would look at raising private equity in a the next three months.

"We would need funds as we are looking at opening more Gaylord and Kwality restaurants in New York, Seattle and London. We would however, go through strategic tie-ups in these countries," said Lamba.