Emaar MGF, India’s leading real estate developer, and Accor, global leaders in economy and budget hotels, have announced a joint venture to bring the Formule 1 brand of budget hotels to India. The new venture, “Budget Hotels India Private Limited”, has planned investments of US$300 million over ten years.
Emaar MGF is a partnership between global property developer Emaar Properties and MGF Developments.
The company has already identified potential locations across the country for the development of Formule 1 hotels. Starting with major metros, the company is looking at developing 50 hotels in the first five years of its operations, with the remaining 50 to be developed in the second phase. The total development will add 10,000 hotels rooms that cater for the budget travellers.
The agreement to form the JV was signed today in the presence of Emaar Properties Chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar and Accor SA Chief Executive Officer Gilles Pelisson.
“India is a key growth market for Emaar, and we have committed US$1 billion – the country’s largest ever foreign direct investment in the real estate sector – to develop several projects across the country,” said Alabbar. “Alongside master-planned residential communities and special economic zones, we regard the hospitality sector as integral in our growth strategy for India. The tie-up with Accor marks our foray into budget hotels – a niche segment that has tremendous growth potential.”
Pelisson said: “The Formule 1 product is ideally suited for India’s rapidly growing tourism market. The brand is recognized as the international benchmark for budget hotels and has been successful in both established and emerging economies. India has one of the world’s most dynamic economies and there is currently a vast undersupply of quality accommodation. With major growth in airlines servicing India’s international and domestic sectors, and the emergence of many new business districts around the country, we see a tremendous future for the Formule 1 brand. We are delighted to build on our already well-established and successful relationship with Emaar MGF.”
“With the recent boom in the international and national tourism, the Indian hospitality sector is witnessing an exponential rise in the number of budget travellers,” said Shravan Gupta, Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Emaar MGF. “This has created a burgeoning demand for a new segment. To tap this opportunity, Emaar MGF and Accor have joined hands to introduce Formule 1 hotels in India.”
He added: “We see huge potential in the hospitality space and we are moving aggressively in this direction by bringing in products across the value chain. Emaar MGF also has plans to construct 10-15 luxury hotels for which we have acquired land across the country.”
Accor is the acknowledged global leader in economy and budget hotels. With the Formule 1, Ibis and other hotel investments, Accor has emerged as the largest international investor in the Indian hotel sector.
Emaar MGF Land Private Limited is India’s foremost joint venture in real estate with projects being implemented on a pan-India basis across top 30 cities. Emaar MGF has brought in the largest FDI amounting to approximately US$1 billion in the Indian real estate sector. The company is engaged in pan-India projects in residential, commercial, infrastructure and hospitality sectors in integrated master plans and special economic zones.
