Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) is planning to go in for a complete makeover in terms of branding and portfolio. The company, now headed by Ramesh Ramanathan who is managing director, plans to have sub-brands under its current Sterling brand like Mahindra Holidays and Resorts in the years to come.
The company will be spending close to R100 crore during 2011-12 and part of 2012-13 on renovation of its existing properties in the country.
?I made one vacation ownership company (Mahindra Holidays and Resorts, where Ramanathan was MD before he joined Sterling) and will make another. It is like home-coming for me, since I was with Sterling Holiday between 1991 and 1995. Our first step at Sterling is to renovate the existing properties and then move into building newer ones. We have enough land bank at prime locations. We would be re-positioning our brand in the market,? said Ramanathan.
He added the renovation work at the existing properties should be completed in the next 12-18 months. Asked about how the company plans to raise the money, Ramanathan said, ?We are considering various financing options to fund our ongoing projects and expansion plans. We will be raising funds, as planned, at an appropriate time and cost. Currently, we are financing our ongoing renovation through the capital already available with the company and through internal accruals.? Currently, Sterling has around 50,000 membership and a room inventory of 1,221. This includes 10 owned and four leased resorts in 12 holiday destinations in the country.
The company also has 15 additional locations where it plans to add new resorts in the coming years. The total land bank with the company stands at around 150 acres spread over destinations like Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Coorg, Gangtok and Igatpuri, among others.
In an earlier conversation with FE, company officials had talked about simplifying the vacation ownership model and looking at new avenues to cater to a larger customer basis.
?We want to make Sterling Holiday Resorts a holiday company in the coming years. At present, the vacation ownership model is sold like a complicated financial asset, which we want to simply,? said a senior official of the company.
Sterling Holiday closed last financial year 2010-11 with revenues of R39.46 crore. The company was into losses prior to 2009-10 for four years. In July, 2009, Bay Capital had acquired over 15% stake in Sterling through preferential allotment for around R28 crore. At present, Bay Capital with its India Discovery Fund ? an India-dedicated fund holds 23% in the company.