Royal Orchid to invest Rs 500 cr on expansion

Hotel chain Royal Orchid today said it plans to invest around Rs 500 crore to double the count of hotels in the country by next fiscal.

"We are looking for expansion through the contract manufacturing route. The proposal is to take our hotel count to 20 by next fiscal from the existing 13 facilities across the country," Royal Orchid Chairman and Managing Director Chender Baljee said.

"In this series two of our four star hotels Central Royal Orchid will be opened shortly in Navi Mumbai and Shimoga in Karnataka," Baljee said.

"As per the contract manufacturing route we shall be forging alliance with property owners in India, provide them our brand and will charge them on the basis of turnover and profits," Baljee said while referring to the business model.

The company had raised funds through an Initial Public Offering(IPO) in 2006 to fund its expansion plans. "The company proposes to use the IPO proceeds of Rs 500 crore to fund its expansion plans, besides debt," he said.

"One of our five star hotels is proposed to come up in Jaipur by the end of this year, and another 240 room hotel in Hyderabad in next financial year," Baljee said.