The owner of the Anantara brand has formed a partnership with a Dubai-based investment company which will see the hotelier take over a resort in Mozambique.
Minor Hotel Group and Rani Investment formed a joint venture for the ownership of Indigo Bay Resort & Spa - a five-star, 44-villa resort that will be rebranded as Anantara Bazaruto Island Resort & Spa later this year.
"We will add more villas into this hotel as well, so we will really add the Anantara touch and also invest into … this hotel," said Dillip Rajakarier, Minor's chief executive.
Rani Investment, the investment arm of Aujan Group Holding with more than US$300 million of investments in the Middle East and Africa, is the largest private hospitality owner-operator in Mozambique.
"For more than a decade, Rani Investment has recognised the major potential of Mozambique as a premium tourism destination," said Salim Bitar, the chief executive.
"We are delighted to be working alongside internationally recognised hospitality brands such as Minor, which will enable us to contribute to and capitalise on the success of the country's rapidly growing economy."
The addition takes the number of properties in Minor's portfolio to 94, which could rise further as the partnership plans to expand to other opportunities on the continent.
The new properties will be a mixture of newly built and rebranded hotels, which will be flagged with Minor's brands including Anantara, the recently launched resort chain Avaniand the serviced apartment Oaks.
"In the next five years there are some really good growth opportunities as to what's happening in Africa, both in terms of the resource boom and also the tourism numbers," said Mr Rajakarier.
Anantara is to open its fifth UAE property next month on The Palm.
"From what I understand our forward bookings are looking pretty strong," Mr Rajakarier said. "Dubai has always been pretty strong in terms of occupancy and rates, so we should be able to hit the ground running because the brand is quite well known in the Middle East now."
[ gduncan@thenational.ae ]
