Brookfield Asset Management has plans to list its luxury hotel chain, The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts, and is in talks with bankers for the process, people familiar with the matter told ET.
Brookfield had committed to invest more than ‘1,500 crore in the hotel chain, after its initial deal that involved an investment of ‘4,500 crore. This was the largest-ever foreign investment made in the Indian hospitality sector.
The Canada-based asset manager declined to comment on the development.
The portfolio of Leela currently includes 13 owned and managed hotels.
India’s hospitality sector has rebounded sharply following the Covid-19 pandemic and listed entities such as Tata Group-backed Indian Hotels Company have been posting record numbers.
In keeping with the trend of rising demand for premium experiences, luxury operators have been doing well. For instance, about 80% of the new deals in India are in the luxury and premium space for Marriott International, which was a bit different prior to the pandemic.
In 2023, hotel investments in India touched $401 million, a record fourfold rise compared with 2022. The first quarter of calendar year 2024 has seen an 80% year-on-year rise in deals at $78 million, as per data shared by JLL exclusively with ET.
According to JLL, 2023 saw the largest number of assets traded in the last decade, with high-net-worth individuals contributing the most to the transaction activity. A record number of signings and openings took place in 2023, with 25,176 keys signed and 12,647 keys opened. There were greenfield projects totalling 13,600 keys, up from 8,000 keys in 2022.
Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels ‘920-crore initial public offering opened on February 5 this year, while Juniper Hotels, jointly promoted by the Saraf Group and Hyatt Hotels Corporation also made their debut on stock exchanges the same month. Juniper is the largest owner, with 1,836 keys, of Hyatt-affiliated hotels in India. It is co-owned by Saraf Hotels and Two Seas Holdings, an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corp.
