Steigenberger Hotels New Majority Shareholder of Travco Group
Focusing on the Expansion of the Brands Steigenberger and InterCityHotel
FRANKFURT, Germany, 25 September 2009 - The long-term strengthening of the market and competitive position of the Steigenberger Hotel Group is one of the main aims of its new majority shareholder, the Egyptian tourism corporation Travco Group. Particular focus will be given to the international expansion of the brands Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotel. This was announced today by Hamed El Chiaty, founder and owner of the Travco Group, together with the Management Board of Steigenberger Hotels AG, at a press conference in Frankfurt am Main.
"The takeover of the Steigenberger Hotel Group represents an important strategic milestone on the expansion course that Travco Group has been following for so many years. It is a way of improving our position in the hotel and tourism industry", said Hamed El Chiaty of his reasons for acquiring Steigenberger Hotels AG. Along with his family, Hamed El Chiaty became the new majority shareholder of the company at the end of August 2009. His Cairo-based company, Travco Group, is the largest tourism corporation in Egypt and a leading force in the Middle East. Its core businesses include an Incoming Agency plus numerous hotels and cruise ships. The group recently joined forces with Air Arabia to set up a new airline company, "Air Arabia Egypt", which will fly to destinations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The expansion laid out in Steigenberger's 2013+ corporate strategy is primarily aimed at injecting renewed vitality into the two brands of Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotel. More Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and mid-range hotels of the InterCityHotel brand are planned in European cities and in the Arab region. They will perfectly complement the existing hotel portfolio of the Travco Group, which comprises the brands JAZ, Iberotel and Sol Y Mar. Acquisition of the Steigenberger Hotel Group has enabled the Travco Group to enter the business hotel market, particularly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Steigenberger's Chief Executive Officer, Andr'e Witschi, is convinced that the strategic corporate aim of quality leadership will primarily be achieved through investment in existing and new hotels, a streamlining of the portfolio and a systematic expansion plan. "We will continue to invest in improving the quality of our hotels. Furthermore the international expansion will help us to significantly increase brand awareness for Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and InterCityHotel."
Contracts for eleven hotels with around 2,400 rooms have already been signed and further hotels are at various stages of planning. In 2010 and 2011 InterCityHotels will open in five new locations in Germany; at the Berlin-Brandenburg Airport and in Bonn, Darmstadt, Mannheim and Ingolstadt. 2011 will also see the opening of two grand hotels of the Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts brand; in Leipzig and on the island of Usedom.
"The change of shareholder puts the Steigenberger Hotel Group in a better financial position than in recent times. This will allow us to reach our strategic and financial goals significantly faster", stated Matthias Heck, Chief Financial Officer of Steigenberger Hotels AG. "Naturally the Steigenberger Hotel Group is not unaffected by the current reduction in bookings. But it is now in a position to make use of the situation by enhancing structures and processes to improve the productivity of the hotels and the company as a whole, not just in the short-term but on a long-term basis."
A further positive effect of the takeover of the Steigenberger Hotel Group by the Travco Group is the emergence of operative synergies. Opportunities for these will arise in the areas of Sales, Marketing and E-Commerce, Purchasing, IT and Business Development.
With Travco Group as its new majority shareholder the Steigenberger Hotel Group will continue to build on its leading position and achieve stronger international positioning. The focus will remain on the key objectives of the corporate strategy: quality leadership, increased profitability and expansion.
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