Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels Ltd, which operates The Park on Calcutta’s very own sunset strip, has drawn up a plan to invest ₹1,600 crore through this decade to double its ‘owned’ room capacity across India through a mix of new properties and acquisitions.

The company, which debuted on the bourses in February, will eye a larger pie of the super-premium and luxury segment of the country’s hospitality market through these properties, which will come up in cities such as Mumbai, Calcutta, Jaipur, Pune and Kochi among others.

In recent months, the Paul family-backed chain sewed up deals to have a significant presence in Mumbai, Kochi and Jaipur and potentially raise the revenue it earns from rooms.

“The year 24/25 has been a standout year for us in terms of growth, progress and success. Going forward, we plan to invest close to ₹1,600 crore in the next five years to double our owned rooms from 1101 to 2112. These properties are all being positioned in the luxury end of the hospitality spectrum, potentially expanding the ARR the company earns,” Vijay Dewan, managing director of ASPHL, told The Telegraph on Saturday.

The average room rent (ARR), a key metric followed by the hospitality industry, of ASPHL stood at ₹7,624, while revenue per available room was ₹7,061. The chain operated at 93 per cent occupancy, which Dewan described as “industry leading”.

Acquisitions

The company has signed an agreement to acquire a 90 per cent stake in Zillion Hotels & Resorts in Juhu, Mumbai – a 60-room service apartment – for ₹209 crore. It plans to convert it to a 80-room property with a rooftop bar by July 2026.

“Mumbai was a missing link to have a pan-India presence for us. It is the strongest market for ARR. We expect to make ₹25-30 crore annual EBIDTA from the property when fully operational,” Dewan explained.

ASPHL is going to make the payment for the Mumbai property, which sits opposite Bollywood star Dev Anand’s bungalow, in two instalments in FY25 and FY26, allowing the company to consummate the deal through internal accruals.

Moreover, it also signed an agreement to acquire Malabar House at Fort Kochi, a 17-room property, and Purity Hotels, a 14-keys property at Lake Vembanad, a prime backwater tourist destination in Kerala.

Like the company’s new Ran Bass Palace at Patiala, the Malabar House is also a Relais & Chateaux hotel with a high ARR. These transactions are expected to close by July. As these are running hotels, they are expected to add to Park’s revenue and EBITDA in FY26.

The total cost for the acquisitions is ₹60 crore payable in a structured deal of ₹22 crore in FY26 and ₹38 crore in FY27. The Ran Bass Palace registered an ARR of ₹24,000 in Q4FY25 and The Lotus Palace, Chettinad, operated at ₹14,699, multiples of ASPHL’s average for the year.

Earlier in June, the company signed a partnership with the Goyal family of Indore to build a 150-key hotel in Jaipur, calling for an investment of ₹200 crore. ASPHL will have a 51 per cent stake in the venture, leaving the remaining 49 per cent with the Goyal family.

Greenfield projects

The company is in the process of building hotels and expanding existing properties across Calcutta, Pune, Navi Mumbai and Visakhapatnam for about ₹1,100 crore, adding about 950 keys. It will include the EM Bypass property in Calcutta where a serviced apartment project will also come up with the 250-keys hotel.

“We are a significant player in the hospitality space in Bengal over the past six decades. Our future investments both in hotels and Flurys business confirms our commitment to Bengal and will help establish our leadership in the state,” Dewan explained. Sale of apartments in Calcutta is expected to start from October while the hotel will be operational by 2028.

The expansions of owned properties would be independent of the growth under the asset light model which will continue to expand by management contracts.

ASPHL will also invest in expanding Flurys confectionery chain to reach 200 outlets by 2027 when it completes 100 years of operation. The multi-year capex will be mostly funded by internal cash generation apart from a little bit of debt.