LUSAKA’S LANDMARK INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL GETS NEW OWNERS
(Posted 12th April 2016)
Ownership of the InterContinental Hotel in Lusaka has, effective 31st of March, changed hands after Kingdom Hotels reportedly sold the property for nearly 36 million US Dollars to Mauritius based QG Africa Hotels.
That company is part of the QG Global Group which has now made its first investment in a hotel property in sub Saharan Africa.
Considered one of Lusaka’s landmarks, the 244 room and suites InterContinental Hotel Lusaka benefits from a strong image amongst international travellers.
Commenting on the acquisition, Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, Founder of Quantum Global said ‘I am very pleased with this first acquisition of QG Africa Hotel LP. It underlines our commitment and investment strategy for the hotel sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The InterContinental Lusaka is strongly established locally and will benefit from the planned refurbishment that will expand and reposition the asset, thereby generating value added returns for our investors‘.
Strong economic growth supported by a more transparent and relatively stable political climate has been attracting an increasing number of international business travellers to Africa, while also boosting inter African business travel.
These trends are driving up steady demand for increased and better business hotel accommodation across sub-Saharan Africa where according to a report filed yesterday some 64.000 new hotel rooms are in the pipeline, and upswing of over 30 percent compared to last year.
QG Africa Hotel LP is a USD 500 million investment company, which aims to capitalize on the emerging opportunities in the hospitality sector. As a long-term direct equity investor in hotel projects across sub-Saharan Africa, the investment structure targets real estate and real estate-related investments in midscale to upscale business hotels. These must be built to high quality international standards, with modern construction and design, and aim to respond to the growing need for hotel accommodation in sub-Saharan Africa. QG seeks additional investment opportunities in established growth markets, with a particular emphasis on prime locations within the continent’s major cities and airports.
