Transcorp Hotels plans expansion with IPO proceeds

Transcorp Hotels Plc, the hospitality arm of Transnational Corpora­tion of Nigeria (Transcorp) has said that proceeds of its initial public offering (IPO) would be used to build two new hotels in Ikoyi, Lagos and Port-Har­court, Rivers State.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Trans­corp Hotels, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, who said this in Lagos last Thursday during the com­pany’s facts behind the offer at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), also assured investors of consistent returns on their investments in the company.
He said the company’s vi­sion was to create maximum and sustainable value for stake­holders, as well as to build Af­rica’s choice hospitality assets underpinned by excellence, en­trepreneurship and execution.
The IPO of 800 million ordi­nary shares of 50 kobo each at N10 per share which opened on September 24, 2014 is expected to close on October 17, 2014 and would be followed by the listing of the entire shares.
Ozigbo explained that the move was in line with the growth being witnessed by the country’s hospitality industry.
He said, “the Nigerian hospi­tality industry is fast becoming more competitive with the pres­ence of international brands in recent years. We have a strong brand and success story in Ni­geria as well as good long term relationships with established suppliers in Nigeria. These, coupled with our partnership with the Hilton Worldwide for management of our facilities, opens up a large opportunity for our proposed developments in the high density areas of Ni­geria to attract a considerable portion of business travel and tourists traffic which should translate to adequate guest pa­tronage.”
The Transcorp Hotels boss said the company would fo­cus on Nigerian expansion in the short to the mid-term and thereafter develop a strong African footprint in high popu­lation and competitive cities. Over the next five years, the company will take a phased ap­proach in developing high-end hotels and apartments in prime locations.
In addition to the new de­velopments, the Transcorp Hotels has also commenced the facelift of the Transcorp Hil­ton Hotel, Abuja with a view to consolidating its position as the premier hotel destination in Nigeria. This will involve the modernisation of the ho­tels core facilities for which the company plans to spend approximately $57.5 million (N9.2 billion) over the next three years. “The funding for this will be sourced from the company’s internal operating cash flows”, Ozigbo said.
Also at the event, Emmanuel Nnorom, the President/CEO of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc noted; “We are very proud of this achievement, the first initial public offering of one of our subsidiary busi­nesses in Nigeria.