Another feather in the cap

Mumbai, June 12: The Tatas have bought Sea Rock Hotel in Mumbai for Rs 680 crore from the Nandas who own the Claridges.

Sea Rock Hotel — which was once the haunt of Bollywood superstars of the eighties such as Rekha and Parveen Babi — will be torn down by the Taj group, its new owners.

Damaged by the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, the hotel had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Indian Hotels — a Tata group company that owns the Taj chain of hotels — will put up a new property that will be integrated with the 368-room Land’s End hotel to create a mega hotel complex in North Mumbai.

The acquisition comes just days before the Bandra-Worli sea link is due to open, which will slash the commute time between south Mumbai and the northern suburb of Bandra by at least half an hour.

R. K. Krishna Kumar, vice-chairman of Indian Hotels Company Ltd, said, “We are delighted to announce that we are able to propose a world class convention and hospitality centre that Mumbai so richly deserves.”

The transaction for a controlling stake was done with ELEL Hotels, a subsidiary of Claridges Hotels. ELEL Ltd holds a long-term sub lease for the sea-facing land on which Sea Rock stands.

The deal will be funded out of the proceeds from the Rs 1,400-crore rights issue that Indian Hotels floated last year.

“In a high demand market like Mumbai, integrating two properties into a larger luxury and business destination will help Indian Hotels expand its market share in Mumbai and leverage efficiencies on the operational front due to the proximity of the two neighbouring properties,” said an analyst who tracks the sector.

The Sea Rock acquisition brings a fourth hotel into the Taj fold in Mumbai.