Mahindra Holidays plans US acquisition

Company is assessing properties in Orlando, Las Vegas as outbound travel rises

Vacation ownership company Mahindra Holidays and Resorts is assessing acquisition targets at Orlando and Las Vegas in the US in its effort to make its portfolio more attractive to outbound Indian holiday makers.

According to TripAdvisor’ study, as many as 44 percent of travellers from India increased their travel spends in 2016. India ranks 18th in the global travel budget rankings, with an estimated average budget of $3,107, compared with the global average travel spend of $5,100.

“We are constantly looking for acquisition of resorts both in India and overseas,” said Kavinder Singh, managing director and chief executive officer, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts.   

About three years back, the company acquired 100 per cent stake in Covington Sarl, Luxembourg, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. And bought a Finland vacation ownership firm Holiday Club Resorts Oy. Mahindra Holidays is also present at international destinations including Malaysia, Thailand, Dubai, Austria. 

 “We believe there is a huge opportunity in India in terms of creating newer destinations. Since we are seeing an increase in outbound travel, we would like to add resorts overseas in Sri Lanka, South East Asia, Western Europe and US,” said Singh. The company is also working on adding an additional 600 rooms in the next two to three years with an investment of Rs 600 crore.  

Singh joined the company about two-and-half years back after spending over two decades with fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies including Asian Paints, ITC and Pidilite Industries.

The company, which started in 1996 with selling 25-year holiday memberships, has grown it customer base to over 218,000 members in the last 20 years. It has 49 resorts with an inventory of over 3,000 rooms. 

The company reported near 40 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit to Rs 145 crore in 2016-17. Its consolidated revenue for the period grew by 43 per cent to Rs 2,309 crore. 

The company’s stock gained a 6 per cent to Rs 587 a share on BSE on Wednesday. Its market cap on Wednesday was Rs 5,216 crore.