Diversified company Laurent & Benon is planning to strengthen its hospitality business in the country and is eyeing to open 28 new properties by FY'15, a top company executive has said.
"We already have six properties at present under five star, five star resort and three star categories. Of these, four are operational and two will be opened in another two months," Laurent & Benon CEO Aman Syal told PTI here.
There are six more properties in the pipeline, which are expected to be operational by FY'13, he said.
"We will invest around Rs 95 crore for developing these six properties in the pipeline. Of this Rs 95 crore, Rs 24 crore will be through equity, while Rs 70 crore will be through debt," he said.
Besides, the company is also looking at adding another 28 properties to take the total to 40 by FY'15, Syal said.
"Of these 40 properties, we target 10 to be owned by the company and the rest to be under contract management," he said.
The company will focus on business hotels in 3-4 star categories in tier I cities and upmarket resorts in tier II and III cities, he said.
When asked about entering the capital markets, Syal said, "We are thinking to bring out an IPO after 2015. However, the market scenario at that time will govern our decision."
Laurent & Benon will also initiate its overseas foray in FY'13, he said. "We will initiate our overseas footprint in during 2012-13 fiscal year. We may look into countries like Singapore, Myanmar and Mauritius," he said.
The company, which is also into service apartment business, has a total inventory of 1,800 rooms that will go up to 4,000 by FY'13, he said.
The serviced apartments are located in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR), Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. "We will continue to expand our service apartment business and expect a lot of growth coming from the existing locations," he said.
Talking about manpower, Syal said, the company employees 600 people at present and the number is expected to go up to 1,200 by next fiscal.
Laurent & Benon is also into human resource, outsourcing solutions and retail verticals.