| Wed 27 Jul 2011, 8:00 | | LAF - Lonrho Plc - Lonrho awarded exclusive master franchise for an Easyhotel |
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LAF
LOLAF
LAF - Lonrho Plc - Lonrho awarded exclusive master franchise for an Easyhotel
network across Africa
Lonrho Plc
(Incorporated and registered in England and Wales)
(Registration number 2805337)
(Share code: LAF ISIN number: GB0002568813)
("Lonrho" or "the Company")
LONRHO AWARDED EXCLUSIVE MASTER FRANCHISE FOR AN EASYHOTEL NETWORK ACROSS AFRICA
Launching the USD29 a night budget hotel room in Africa
Lonrho Plc`s wholly owned subsidiary, Lonrho Budget Hotels Ltd, has signed a 20
year master franchise agreement ("MFA") with easyHotel to open and operate an
easyHotel network across Africa. The MFA provides Lonrho with the exclusive
rights to the easyHotel brand in Africa and sets out an agreed opening schedule
for fifty properties by 2016.
The opening schedule will focus on African destinations already served by
easyJet, as well as other large cities across the continent, which have
demonstrated significant domestic and international demand for clean, safe and
consistent quality branded hotel accommodation.
The hotels will be branded `easyHotel.com` and designated as `a Lonrho Hotel` to
build maximum market presence and credibility. The `easy` brand, owned by Sir
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, is one of the worlds most recognised and successful value
for money brands.
easyHotel is a well established chain of budget hotels based in London with
hotels spanning from as far north as Edinburgh and as far south as Dubai,
focused on delivering high quality, international-standard bedrooms at an
affordable price. Typical easyHotel customers seek a modern, comfortable
bedroom for the night, placing a higher priority on exceptional value rather
than the peripheral services that make traditional hotels more expensive.
easyHotel will be the first trans-continental hotel brand in Africa specifically
designed to be accessible to many, not a select few. easyHotel`s unique low-
cost business model permits the customer to enjoy an international standard
bedroom at a highly competitive price.
easyHotel has a sophisticated booking system to maximise customer discounts.
Rates vary based on how far in advance the room is booked, personal requirements
during a stay and other criteria. This system enables easyHotel to provide
highly competitive accommodation rates starting as low as USD29 per night.
Africa is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The African market
is being stimulated by an increasing inflow of tourist and business visitors
combined with an indigenous population of a billion people with a rapidly
growing disposable income. (McKinsey forecast that indigenous African consumer
spending will be USD1.6 trillion by 2020.)
Commenting on the MFA, David Lenigas, Executive Chairman of Lonrho said:
"Lonrho is already a significant brand name across Africa. We believe that
combining it with the `easy` brand, which is well-known for highly successful
budget operations; to create the Lonrho `easyHotel` chain will satisfy the
growing demand from consumers across the continent. Each Lonrho easyHotel will
provide quality, clean, safe, consistent, and branded hotel accommodation from
as low as USD29 per night.
"We are delighted to have the exclusive rights to develop the easyHotel concept
across Africa. The low-cost value hotel market is currently undeveloped on the
continent yet is arguably the fastest growing sector of the global and African
hotel markets.
"Lonrho plans to open the first easyHotel in Africa in 2012 and intends to grow
the chain rapidly after that, to more than fifty hotels by 2016, taking the
Lonrho easyHotel to the majority of the larger cities across the continent."
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Chairman of easyGroup commented:
"easyGroup is delighted to be working exclusively with Lonrho to develop the
easyHotel network across Africa. We look forward to working closely with Lonrho
to establish easyHotel as the pre-eminent pan-African budget hotel chain.
"The economic development of the African market, supported by the significant
number of foreign visitors, large scale urbanisation and the growing disposable
income of the one billion people in the domestic market, clearly provides demand
for a safe, value for money, budget hotel chain of consistent, predictable
quality."
Enquiries
Lonrho Plc +44 (0) 20 7016 5105
David Lenigas
Geoffrey White
David Armstrong
Panmure Gordon +44 (0) 20 7459 3600
Tim Linacre
Dominic Morley
Adam Pollock
Hannah Woodley
Pelham Bell Pottinger +44 (0) 20 7861 3232
Charles Vivian
James MacFarlane
South African sponsor
Java Capital
27 July 2011
Date: 27/07/2011 08:00:07 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
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