C&P and Elewana up the ante with a merger

ELEWANA MERGES WITH C&P TO CREATE A NEW POWERHOUSE ON THE SAFARI CIRCUIT

(Posted 07th March 2015)

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Some of East Africa’s finest and most scenic safari properties, as repeatedly mentioned here in the past, are owned and operated by Cheli & Peacock and Elewana in both Tanzania and Kenya.

Small is beautiful for long held water here but united we stand and divided we fall may have taken over as a primary new objective among the owners of the two companies when they announced yesterday that a merger has been agreed. Both companies, C&P in particular, reeled in award after award for their camps and names like Elsa’s Kopje, Joy’s Camp, Kitich or Elephant Pepper Camp instantly raise pictures in the mind of those in the know about the very best tradition of East African hospitality.

Besides the four mentioned, all EcoTourism Kenya Gold Label holders, does C&P bring such well reputed camps into the ‘marriage’ like Tortilis in Amboseli and the Lewa Safari Camp while Elewana brings the Sand River Camp in the Masai Mara and AfroChic in Diani into the Kenya collection while from Tanzania a further six properties, including one in Zanzibar, will no doubt help to give their combined clientele something spectacular to look forward to.

Both companies issued the following media release, now available here as breaking news. Notably did the confirmation that tariffs currently in place will be kept until 2017, which should not just reassure the market vis a vis price stability but also help to create added demand for some of their iconic properties.

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We are extremely pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition

of Cheli & Peacock Group of Companies by the Elewana Collection,

which received final Government approval at the end of January 2015.

The acquisition will see the Cheli & Peacock properties, namely, Elsa’s

Kopje, Elephant Pepper Camp, Joy’s Camp, Tortillis Camp, Kitich Camp

and Lewa Safari Camp merge under the banner of the Elewana Collection

to form a comprehensive circuit of 14 properties spanning the highlights

of Northern Tanzania, Kenya and Zanzibar.

The table below shows the full extent of the portfolio that will fall under

the Elewana Collection:

Kenya	Tanzania
Elephant Pepper Camp (Masai Mara)	Arusha Coffee Lodge
Sand River Camp (Masai Mara)	Tarangire Treetops
Elsa’s Kopje (Meru)	The Manor at Ngorongoro
Joy’s Camp (Shaba/Samburu)	Serengeti Pioneer Camp
Tortillis Camp (Amboseli)	Serengeti Migration Camp
Kitich Camp (Mathews Range)	Zanzibar
Lewa Safari Camp (Lewa, Laikipia)	Kilindi Zanzibar
AfroChic Diani Beach

Cheli & Peacock Safaris will continue to act independently of the

Elewana Collection under the leadership of Stefano and Liz Cheli.

Stefano and Liz will focus on innovations within the Company to

enhance its offering as a destination experience manager.

The merger of the Cheli & Peacock’s Portfolio with that of the Elewana

Collection is now underway and we envisage a formal launch of the

newly-merged Group by the middle of 2015. In advance of the launch we

will provide you with details of any changes that may occur to the booking

and reservations process. In the meantime it is very much business as

usual and therefore please continue to make your reservations for the

respective properties as you currently do.

For the Elewana Collection, we would like to take this opportunity to

inform you that the rates for 2016 and 2017 will be available imminently.

These will remain static – for the two years in question – in order to

provide some degree of pricing visibility and much-needed stability in

what has been a turbulent time for East African tourism.

It only leaves us to say a big ‘thank you’ to all our trade partners

and suppliers for your continued support to both Cheli & Peacock and

Elewana. We believe that the combination of Cheli & Peacock’s

long-standing history and experience of safaris and that of our now

enhanced regional product offering will deliver a truly genuine and

memorable destination experience for all our mutual clients.

The statement was signed by Karim Wissanji, Chairman and CEO of the Elewana Collection and by Stefano and Liz Cheli, CEO’s for Cheli & Peacock Safaris.For additional information about the portfolios of both companies check out www.chelipeacock.com and www.elewana.com