Louvre Hotels in talks for franchise deal with Mirah Group, may launch 'Kyriad'

May launch under own brand Kyriad by converting existing Citrus hotels

Updated : Mar 16, 2018, 05:10 AM IST

Louvre Hotels in talks for franchise deal with Mirah Group, may launch 'Kyriad'

Louvre Hotels Group (LHG), Europe's second-largest hotel group, is in advanced talks for a multi-hotel franchise agreement with Mumbai-based Mirah Group. The hotel conversion deal, if concluded, could also see LHG launching its brand 'Kyriad' in the Indian hospitality market.

In fact, industry sources familiar with the development told DNA Money that the franchise deal has been finalised. "As part of the arrangement Louvre will be rebranding the existing hotels operated by Mirah as Kyriad, thus paving way for its new brand's entry in India," said sources.

Launched in 2001, Kyriad branded hotels operate in the three-to four-star category and are present in markets like France and Indonesia with 256 hotels.

Queries emailed to Saurabh Chawla, chief development officer, Louvre Hotels Group in Paris remained unanswered. Vimal Singh, managing director, Golden Tulip Hospitality Group and Louvre Hotels in India did not respond to calls/ text and email seeking confirmation and related details pertaining to the deal.

Gaurav Goenka, managing director, Mirah Group was not reachable for a comment. Queries emailed also remained unanswered at the time of going to print.

Promoted by O P Goenka, chairman, the Mirah Group (according to company website) is into diversified businesses including hotels, food and beverage (restaurants/ sports bars), holidays, real estate, insurance and travel, entertainment and, gifts and greetings. On the hotels front, the group owns and operates hotels under Citrus brand.

Catering to the business and leisure travellers Citrus hotels are positioned at the mid-market segment of the hospitality industry. According to the company website, it currently has seven hotels operational at key locations like Alleppey, Bengaluru, Goa, Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Pune and Sriperumbudur. Apart from this, the group has stated that it has five more hotels in the pipeline.

Interestingly, the group's holiday business under Citrus Checks Inn and Royal Twinkle Star Club Pvt Ltd (RTSCPL) have been referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for non-payment dues worth Rs 786 crore to its 2.28 lakh investors. The two companies raised money via a 'ponzi scheme' and to refund investors' money, NCLT had (in December 2017) asked for attachment of the promoters'/ group's declared assets that included Citrus hotels.

The market has been abuzz about a possible sell-out of the Citrus Hotel in Goa. DNA Money, could not independently verify this and related details viz. the entity that bought the hotel and its purchase price. The deal, if concluded already, may have happened prior to NCLT's asset attachment order.

The France-based hotel chain, owned by one of China's leading travel and tourism conglomerates Jin Jiang International, had last year (January 2017) acquired homegrown hotel company Sarovar Hotels in a Rs 350 crore-odd deal. While Sarovar has been aggressively expanding presence in the country, LHG has also been exploring opportunities to enhance its offerings.

LHG currently operates 2,500 hotels across 54 countries. The brands being offered include Hotels & Preferences, Royal Tulip, Golden Tulip, Metropolo, Campanile, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts, Kyriad, Tulip Inn, Jin Jiang Inn and Première Classe.