Vacation ownership giant Club Mahindra, which bought a partial share of it’s Finnish counterpart Holiday Club Resorts, Oy, Finland (HCR) last year, has completed it’s acquisition. Having invested EUR 2.8 mn in HRC, Club Mahindra will own 88 per cent of the European company, following the necessary approvals from the European governments. The management team of HRC will remain the same, while Club Mahindra will take over the Board for the company.
Addressing the media at a press conference in Mumbai to announce the acquisition, Arun Nanda, Chairman, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India stated that the biggest advantage of this acquisition will be that Club Mahindra will become a global brand. The focus for the merged company will be development in India, he added, opining that the penetration in this market is still low.
“This acquisition puts us among the top five companies in this field in the world, and makes us the largest vacation ownership company outside the US. We plan to further our investment in the company with an infusion of another EUR 10 mn, partly by equity and partly by debt,” Nanda said.
Kavinder Singh, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Holidays informed that the benefits for the members include the opportunity to explore new destinations in Finland, Spain and Sweden, where HRC has a strong presence. There are also opportunities offered to synergise project management, member services and so on, he added.
“Today, Club Mahindra has 44 resorts and 183,000 members. HRC will add to that it’s own 30 resorts, 2638 units, and another 47 villas that are currently under construction. The Finnish company also notched a turnover of EUR 123 mn by YE September 2014,” he informed.
When asked about working with the travel trade, Nanda stated that he doesn’t see much synergy in the industry to work with agents to promote Club Mahindra. However, he added, the company is planning to launch a new entrée trial pack, for which they will contact agents to promote the product.
He further added that Club Mahindra added 430 rooms last year, and plans to add another 700 rooms in the next couple of years with properties planned in Goa, Dharamshala and Simla. Their properties see an average of 80 per cent occupancy in physical terms and 89 per cent in virtual terms, he revealed.
