Elegant Hotels Group plc LON:EHG the owner and operator of six upscale freehold hotels and a beachfront restaurant on the island of Barbados has told DirectorsTalk that it has signed a management contract with Hodges Bay Resort in Antigua.
The Company had previously announced on 14 October that it had reached an agreement in principle on the contract with the hotel’s owner, JSN Development Group Ltd (“JSN”). The contract has now been signed following the completion of the formal legal agreement.
Hodges Bay Resort is currently under construction and is expected to open its doors in mid to late 2017, when it will be branded as “Hodges Bay Resort & Spa by Elegant Hotels”. It will be a 122-room luxury beachfront resort, spa and residential development in a prime location on the popular north shore of Antigua. It is ideally located for many of the island’s main attractions, and is within easy reach of both V.C. Bird International Airport and the island’s capital, St. John’s. The accommodation choices will include stunning ocean-front apartments and villas, as well as executive suites and penthouses. The property will be a breakfast-inclusive hotel with various high-end dining choices and a self-catering option for the villa occupants.
Other features of the property include a heated ocean-side infinity pool, a heated lounge pool, a luxury five-therapy room spa with advanced technology hydro pool, three dining outlets, a coffee shop, an al-fresco all-day poolside grill, six bars, and a wide range of water-sport and other fitness, leisure and entertainment facilities. In addition, guests will be able to take advantage of the usual Elegant Signature activities, including free water-sports, free Wi-Fi, beach and pool Ambassador service, kids and teens clubs, and bespoke tours and daily activities.
From a strategic perspective, this will be Elegant Hotels’ first hotel offering outside Barbados and its first management contract, and it is expected to be earnings enhancing in FY18. The Board of Elegant Hotels believes that management contracts of this kind represent a compelling opportunity to expand beyond Barbados, given they require far less capital investment than full ownership, and is therefore considering a number of other similar targets.
Commenting on the news, Sunil Chatrani, CEO of Elegant Hotels, said: “We are delighted to have signed our first ever management contract, which also represents our first foray outside of Barbados. Hodges Bay Resort & Spa will be a chic and distinctive luxury property that, like all of the hotels in our portfolio, offers outstanding accommodation, understated elegance, impeccable service, and the very highest standards of culinary expertise and leisure activities. We look forward to integrating the hotel into our existing operations and to putting our own unique stamp on it, while still retaining the property’s individual characteristics. The hotel will be a highly complementary addition to our collection, catering as it does for adults and families alike.”
