India’s ITC Group to build mid-market hotel chain with MMBL Leisure

• First of its kind city hotel Trinco to be maiden venture; Katunayake, Galle, Matara and Kandy prospects to be explored

India’s giant ITC Group is to build a mid-market hotel chain with MMB Leisure with first of its kind city hotel planned in Trinco and several other popular provincial cities earmarked. 

A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed yesterday in Colombo between ITC Group subsidiary Welcome Hotels Lanka Ltd., and MMBL Leisure, the subsidiary of MMBL-Pathfinder Group in the presence of Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu and MMBL Pathfinder Group founder Milinda Moragoda.

WelcomeHotels Lanka is the project company for the ITC Sheraton coming up in Galle Face with an investment of over $ 300 million. 

ITC is one of India’s leading multi business enterprises with a market capitalisation of over $ 50 billion and a turnover of $ 8 billion. ITC Hotels is India’s premier chain of luxury hotels that has become synonymous with Indian hospitality and operates over 100 hotels in over 70 destinations in India.

MMBL Leisure is a niche travel and hospitality investment firm and is a joint venture with Lebara Investments of Netherlands. In the recent past MMBSL Leisure has helped promote and co-invest in several niche tourism projects including Jetwing Jaffna, Cinnamon Air and Lanka Houseboats. Together with several Lankan blue chip joint venture partners, MMBL Leisure has acquired two more beach properties in the eastern province and another in Rangala near Knuckles Mountain Range. MMBL Leisure is also in the process of exploring the possibility of passenger/cargo ferry service between Sri Lanka and India in collaboration with a leading ferry operator in Europe.

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