Indian Hotels Company (IHCL), a Tata Group firm that runs the Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces chain of hotels, said it is waiting for the North American market to recover before it announces the setting up an umbrella company for its overseas properties.
The company had expressed interest to restructure the shareholding of its international assets and form an apex company to house them last year. This, it had said, was to have a better control over its overseas portfolio. Currently, IHCL has 16 hotel properties overseas in virtually every important market, including the US, the UK, Australia, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, UAE and the Maldives. These properties are held in various subsidiaries of IHCL.
?We are working on the umbrella company and waiting for the North American market to recover,? said Raymond Bickson,CEO & MD, IHCL. He did not give a timeline for the formation of the umbrella company. However, it may be recalled that, in an earlier interview with this paper, Bickson had said the umbrella company ?may be two years away.? On the Indian front of restructuring of its business architecture, IHCL said it is working on a fifth brand that will be placed between the Gateway and the Ginger brands. Last year, IHCL launched its fourth brand Vivanta, an upper upscale brand.