Sixth Senses CEO Visits Sri Lanka on Joint Venture with Aitken Spence to Construct Upmarket Resort

29th August 2010, www.thebottomline.lk, By Indika Sakalasooriya

The Chief Executive of luxury spa operator Sixth Senses, Sonu Shivadasani, is to visit Sri Lanka next month, to announce the joint venture between his company and Sri Lanka’s resort operator Aitken Spence to construct an up market resort in the Southern Coastal line of the country.

“Mr Shivadasani will be here to open the construction of the Ahungalle Luxury Resort and Spa Complex, which was originally billed as Evason Hideaway next month,” an Aitken Spence official said.

Aitken Spence Hotels managing director Malin Hapugoda told the media earlier that the joint venture project is to come up near Ahungalla, in Beruwala, a prime beach resort where it has two properties, Heritance and Neptune.

The investment for the project is estimated at USD 20 million and the ownership structure would be 50:50. Presently Sixth Senses operates spas at Aitken Spence-owned hotels, Kandalama and Tea Factory.

Sonu Shivdasani, Chairman and CEO, founded the Six Senses group together with his wife, Eva. British born, he is a former student of Eton College, and holds a M.A. in English Literature from Oxford University.

Sonu began his career with a two-year induction in the family business which covered many businesses except tourism.

According to an interview he has given to Meridia Capital in 1991, Sonu reduced the amount of time he spent in the family businesses and made a small investment in Pavilion Resorts. The original shareholding was later extended to full ownership and renamed as Six Senses Hotels & Resorts, later to become Six Senses Resorts & Spas.
The company’s focus was changed to the higher end 5 star designer niche. The executive team also changed so that the management’s skills reflected the requirements of the new strategic direction.

In October 1995, he opened his first new build resort in the Maldives, and created the brand: Soneva. This was followed by the Evason brand, initially in Thailand and Vietnam, and Six Senses Spas.

Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence to Invest $78mn on Hotels

12th July 2010, www.dailymirror.lk

Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence group is planning to put 78 million US dollars in to the leisure sector after a war ended in Sri Lanka with new hotels in the south western coast being started first, an official said.

"We envisage a post-war investment around 9.0 billion rupees (78 million US dollars) given the opportunities that we have," Aitken Spence director Gehan Perera told a forum organized by Acuity, an investment bank.

A 30-year war which had hamstrung tourism ended in May 2009, and arrivals are up over 40 percent this year. Aiken Spence owns or operates 27 hotels with 2,020 rooms in Sri Lanka, Maldives, India and Oman.

The firm will refurbish and expand a 94-room hotel in Kalutara, formerly known as Golden Sun which it only managed at first but has since taken full control after a Singapore based shareholder sold out.

A hotel in Beruwala is being done up and will be relaunched as Heritance Mahagedera in early 2011 positioned as a 64-room specialized Ayurveda (a traditional South Asian healthcare system) resort.

Its premium hotels, branded Heritance, includes a 5-star resort next to a lake in Kandalama in central Sri Lanka, a former tea factory in the central hills and a beach resort in Ahungalle in the south western coast.

Perera said a 10 acre land next to Heritance Ahungalle was slated for development. Earlier reports have said the group was planning a venture there with the Six Senses leisure group.

"We have another seven acres next to Heritance Mahagedera in Beruwala. This is also under discussion," Perera said.

"In Nilaweli (in north eastern Sri Lanka) we have a little over 100 acres. It is also on the drawing board. We are looking at a fairly integrated development there."

Perera said the group was looking at Yala in the deep south of the country, where a popular national park is located and was also scouting for more opportunities in the north. In addition to Nilaweli it was also looking at more projects in eastern Sri Lanka.

The government recently gave land to developers in Pasikuda and another tourism zone in Kuchchaveli has also been opened.

John Keells to Invest 6BN to Upgrade and Build Hotels in Sri Lanka

22nd November 2009, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka's John Keells Holdings is ready to invest nearly 6.0 billion rupees over the next two to three years in upgrading and building new hotels if tourism arrivals pick up after the end of a 30-year war as expected, an official said.

Deputy chairman Ajith Gunewardene said JKH was planning a 190 room hotel in Beruwela on which design work would be finished by next April.

The hotel is expected to cost around 1.7 billion rupees, and will be a 4-star rated hotel coming under the group's mid-market 'Chaaya' brand. Its up market 5-star properties are branded Cinnamon.

JKH has a 10-acre long stretch in Beruwala, after it bought land from Sri Lanka's Confifi group next to an existing property. JKH's Beach Hotel Bayroo, in Beruwala was damaged during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

JKH has already closed its 80 room Club Oceanic Hotel in the Eastern coast of Trincomalee to be refurbished at a cost of 400 million rupees as a 4-star rated property.

Bentota Beach Hotel, would also be refurbished towards the end of next year at cost of 800 million rupees. The 115 room property would be 5-star rated.

"If tourism arrivals increase we will be ready with rooms," Gunewardene told a forum organized by Leopard Capital, a private equity group in Colombo.

"Cambodia saw an exponential growth after unrest ended. Arrivals grew from 557,000 in 200 to 2.1 million in 2008. Sri Lanka had 438,000 tourists last year."

By 2011 JKH would be ready to start a 100 room 5-star hotel at its existing land in Ahungalle. The project may cost 1.6 billion rupees.

It could also build another 4-star 120 room hotel in the East Coast on its existing or acquired property. JKH had access to property in Kuchchaveli as well as in Nilaveli, Gunewardene said.