Travel Food Services (TFS), which operates quick-service restaurants and lounge business across airports in India, is focussing on airports in the Asia-Pacific and West Asia for the next phase of growth for its lounge business, a top executive said.
Talking to FE, Varun Kapur, managing director and chief executive officer of TFS, said that they have received healthy footfall and good customer feedback at the recently opened lounge at the Hong Kong airport.
“That is an opportunity we will really focus on in the middle-term,” he said.
TFS operates 37 lounges across airports in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Out of this, 28 lounges are located across 10 airports in India, eight Lounges across three airports in Malaysia and one lounge located in Hong Kong.
In India, it includes prominent ones like Adani Lounge at Mumbai’s T2 and 080 Lounge at Bengaluru airport. They have also won the food & beverages and Lounge concession for the upcoming Noida Airport.
Headquartered in Mumbai, the company also runs a travel QSR business with 384 outlets across 13 Indian airports, 29 outlets across two airports in Malaysia and 29 outlets across nine highways in India. Its F&B brand portfolio comprises of 127 brands including KFC, Pizza Hut, Third Wave Coffee, Krispy Kreme and Subway, among others.
Kapur said that the travel QSR business offers a big headroom for growth as air travel continues to remain underpenetrated in the country.
“India’s total passengers divided by total population is at 0.27 for 2023. While in other countries this is much higher like 0.81 in China and 0.99 in Brazil,” he said.
According to Crisil, the Indian airport Travel QSR sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17-19% between FY25 and FY34 to reach Rs 17,000-18,000 crore.
Kapur also said that while their highway QSR business is at a nascent stage current, Centre’s focus on rapid road network development and National Highways Authority of India’s regulation on wayside amenities offer them a good long-term opportunity.
The company is lauching a Rs 2,000 crore IPO, which will open for subscription on July 7. The proposed IPO is entirely an offer-for-sale (OFS) of shares by promoter Kapur Family Trust.
The Kapur Family Trust operates under the flagship brand K Hospitality, which oversees and invests in several hospitality and food service businesses, including Travel Food Services.