New owners take over Raffles Hotel

Straits Times: Sat, Jan 14

SINGAPORE'S grand old dame Raffles Hotel is finally in the hands of its new Qatari owners but any makeover looks likely to be delayed. The changeover has been a long time coming. In 2010, it was reported that the iconic building would be sold by Toronto-based hotel chain Fairmont Raffles to a Qatari sovereign wealth fund for US$275 million (S$356 million). That would have made it the third change of ownership in seven years. The deal looks to have finally been completed. The government-owned Qatar National Hotels Company (QNH) - the largest hotel owner and operator in the Middle Eastern state - said on Monday that it has just taken over the ownership of the historic 103-room Beach Road hotel. It said that Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris, the European flagship of Raffles Hotels & Resorts, is also under its ownership. In a statement, QNH chief executive Hamad Abdulla Al-Mulla said that 'adding these iconic properties to our portfolio represents consistent steps of QNH's strategic expansion at the international level'. Media reports in 2010 had also said that the Qatari firm wanted to fund an earlier-announced extension that would increase the number of hotel rooms. In 2009, Saudi Arabian investment company Kingdom Holding obtained the nod to redevelop the hotel's shopping arcade to make space for as many as 78 new rooms. The cost was said to be as high as US$100 million, The Times in Britain reported in April 2010. Kingdom Holding formerly held a 58.1 per cent stake in Fairmont Raffles Hotels International, which in turn owned Raffles Hotel, along with about 100 other hotels around the world. However, The Straits Times understands that only in-principle approval was given and since then there has been no further word on the planned extension. This means written permission has yet to be given and so redevelopment work cannot start. The hotel, built in 1887 on the site of a 10-room bungalow, has gained worldwide fame and is mentioned in the works of writers such as Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad. The hotel was part of Singapore-listed Raffles Holdings' portfolio until 2005, when the now de-listed company sold all of its hotel assets to US-based Colony Capital for $1.7 billion. In 2006, Colony Capital teamed up with Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Talal to buy Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in a US$3.9 billion deal that injected Raffles Hotel into Fairmont Raffles' portfolio. [e-mail] LEGENDARY LEGACIES 'Through years of rich history, Raffles Hotel Singapore and Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris have become legendary legacies that enhance the hospitality values by building a bridge between tradition and a glorious future.' Mr Hamad Abdulla Al-Mulla, chief executive of Qatar National Hotels Company, the new owner of the two hotels Source: The Straits Times