Rezidor expands partnership with Mvelaphanda

07 September 2010

Friday, 05 February 2010 08:50

Julius Baumann - Business Day- International hotel group Rezidor has expanded it management partnership with empowerment group Mvelaphanda Holdings to cover Rezidor’s entire South African portfolio.
Until now Mvelaphanda had only been partners in the management of the Radisson Blu at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, Rezidor’s first hotel in SA.

But in recent years Rezidor has embarked on aggressive expansion in SA and the rest of Africa and has three hotels open in SA, including the 177-room Radisson Blu Hotel Waterfront, Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton and 173- room Radisson Blu Hotel Port Elizabeth.

A further four hotels are due to open in the next 18 months, including Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel in central Sandton, the Park Inn Sandton, the Hotel Missoni Cape Town and Radisson Blu Hotel Blaauwberg.

In terms of the deal, Mvelaphanda will hold a 26% stake in the newly formed Rezidor Hotels SA and share in the management fees earned from hotels operated in SA, Lesotho and Swaziland across all five Rezidor brands. They will also assist in identifying new development opportunities.

“Rezidor and Mvelaphanda have built up a strong relationship in the past nine years. We are of the opinion that our relationship could unlock potential in the hospitality industry (and) the focus will be to assist Rezidor in the identification, development and management of hotel properties,” Mark Willcox, CEO of Mvelaphanda Holdings , said yesterday.

Maarten van den Nieuwenhuijsen, Rezidor’s regional director for southern Africa, said yesterday the hotel group was looking at various development opportunities within SA and the portfolio would continue to be expanded in the next few years.

Rezidor has numerous hotels under construction throughout sub-Saharan Africa including new properties in Mozambique, Angola and Zambia.