Lonrho signs franchise with easyHotel in Africa (1152L)
July 27 2011 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMLONR
RNS Number : 1152L
Lonrho PLC
27 July 2011
27 July 2011
Lonrho Plc
("Lonrho" or the "Company")
Lonrho Awarded Exclusive Master Franchise
For an easyHotel Network across Africa
Launching the $29 a night budget hotel room in Africa
Lonrho Plc's wholly owned subsidiary, Lonrho Budget Hotels Ltd,
has signed a 20 year master franchise agreement ("MFA") with
easyHotel to open and operate an easyHotel network across Africa.
The MFA provides Lonrho with the exclusive rights to the easyHotel
brand in Africa and sets out an agreed opening schedule for fifty
properties by 2016.
The opening schedule will focus on African destinations already
served by easyJet, as well as other large cities across the
continent, which have demonstrated significant domestic and
international demand for clean, safe and consistent quality branded
hotel accommodation.
The hotels will be branded 'easyHotel.com' and designated as 'a
Lonrho Hotel' to build maximum market presence and credibility. The
'easy' brand, owned by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is one of the
worlds most recognised and successful value for money brands.
easyHotel is a well established chain of budget hotels based in
London with hotels spanning from as far north as Edinburgh and as
far south as Dubai, focused on delivering high quality,
international-standard bedrooms at an affordable price. Typical
easyHotel customers seek a modern, comfortable bedroom for the
night, placing a higher priority on exceptional value rather than
the peripheral services that make traditional hotels more
expensive. easyHotel will be the first trans-continental hotel
brand in Africa specifically designed to be accessible to many, not
a select few. easyHotel's unique low-cost business model permits
the customer to enjoy an international standard bedroom at a highly
competitive price.
easyHotel has a sophisticated booking system to maximise
customer discounts. Rates vary based on how far in advance the room
is booked, personal requirements during a stay and other criteria.
This system enables easyHotel to provide highly competitive
accommodation rates starting as low as US$29 per night.
Africa is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The
African market is being stimulated by an increasing inflow of
tourist and business visitors combined with an indigenous
population of a billion people with a rapidly growing disposable
income. (McKinsey forecast that indigenous African consumer
spending will be $1.6 trillion by 2020.)
Commenting on the MFA, David Lenigas, Executive Chairman of
Lonrho said:
"Lonrho is already a significant brand name across Africa. We
believe that combining it with the 'easy' brand, which is
well-known for highly successful budget operations; to create the
Lonrho 'easyHotel' chain will satisfy the growing demand from
consumers across the continent. Each Lonrho easyHotel will provide
quality, clean, safe, consistent, and branded hotel accommodation
from as low as US$29 per night.
"We are delighted to have the exclusive rights to develop the
easyHotel concept across Africa. The low-cost value hotel market is
currently undeveloped on the continent yet is arguably the fastest
growing sector of the global and African hotel markets.
"Lonrho plans to open the first easyHotel in Africa in 2012 and
intends to grow the chain rapidly after that, to more than fifty
hotels by 2016, taking the Lonrho easyHotel to the majority of the
larger cities across the continent."
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Chairman of easyGroup commented:
"easyGroup is delighted to be working exclusively with Lonrho to
develop the easyHotel network across Africa. We look forward to
working closely with Lonrho to establish easyHotel as the
pre-eminent pan-African budget hotel chain.
"The economic development of the African market, supported by
the significant number of foreign visitors, large scale
urbanisation and the growing disposable income of the one billion
people in the domestic market, clearly provides demand for a safe,
value for money, budget hotel chain of consistent, predictable
quality."
Enquiries
Lonrho Plc +44 (0) 20 7016 5105
David Lenigas
Geoffrey White
David Armstrong
Panmure Gordon +44 (0) 20 7459 3600
Tim Linacre
Dominic Morley
Adam Pollock
Hannah Woodley
Pelham Bell Pottinger +44 (0) 20 7861 3232
Charles Vivian
James MacFarlane
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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