StayWell planning to expand

Sydney-based accommodation operator StayWell Hospitality Group has added five major New Zealand hotels to its fast-growing portfolio, part of plans to expand its network to 100 hotels in three years.

StayWell was founded in 2006 by hotelier Simon Wan, former Baker & McKenzie partner Richard Doyle, and another businessman, Bal Sohal. It began with five hotels in NSW and Tasmania but the company now has an international portfolio of 32 properties. It operates the Park Regis and Leisure Inn hotel brands, which have properties in India, the UK, Singapore, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.

Wan, formerly the CEO of ASX-listed Tourism, Hotels & Leisure before it was sold to MFS in 2006, says the expansion will boost the company’s balance sheet to about $500 million over the next three years.

“Most of Australia’s major hotel brands are now overseas owned and operated,” he says. “We are one of the very few hotel companies based in Australia, and we are proud to not only remain here, but to expand internationally from our Australian base.”

The company will take over Accor management of the five New Zealand properties, which are located in Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, Rotorua and Picton and now operate under the Mercure brand.

The management agreement with CP Group, owned by the wealthy Pandey family, will start in December.

Wan says he is pursuing management deals in India, China and more in Australia and the Middle East. This includes plans to develop hotels in Adelaide and Perth.

Wan told The Australian Financial Review he invests $3 million to $10 million in new hotel deals. But room rates in Australia are about 20 per cent below where they need to be to encourage developers to embark on new projects.

Source: Financial Review, 7 November 2013