Suri: Big plans

New Delhi, May 30: Hotelier Lalit Suri plans to offload a 10-15 per cent stake in his five-star deluxe hotel chain ? Bharat Hotels ? to an overseas buyer.

?We are in talks with an overseas private equity partner. We are expecting a response in the next three months after the valuation is completed. The final decision will be taken soon,? Bharat Hotels chairman and managing director Suri said.

He refused to reveal the offer price but said the stake sale will help fund expansion plans of the hotel chain.

Meanwhile, Suri is planning to set up five to seven five-star hotels in the next three to five years at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

The group has picked Bekal in Kerala, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Surat and Noida as the site for its new hotels. The investments for each of these, including land costs, is Rs 10-15 crore.

The company is also looking at setting up hotels abroad. It is exploring the possibility of a greenfield project in Dubai and acquisitions in London and NewYork.

?My agents are already on the job. We need to get the right locations and price,? said Suri.

He said the group is not focusing on Bengal or Calcutta in particular for a greenfield project. ?We have just completed our due diligence for Great Eastern Hotel and are waiting for a response from the government.? The other two strong bidders for the Bengal government-owned hotel are ITC and Park Hotels.

Bharat Hotels also plans to check into the budget segment. ?We are looking at the prospect carefully and will have to conduct a thorough study. However, nothing will happen on this front for three years, till we are through with establishing our five-star hotels,? he said.

Bharat Hotels is likely to form a joint venture with a foreign partner to enter this segment. ?Budget hotels will be a joint venture. We are looking for different modules and expertise in this field,? Suri said.

The group wants to achieve a turnover of Rs 300 crore in 2005-06. Its present turnover is Rs 203.29 crore while its net profit is Rs 77 crore.