Hampshire Hotels plans expansion

Hyderabad: Hampshire Hotels and Resorts LLC, promoted by the hotelier Mr Sant Singh Chatwal, has set its eyes on the Indian hospitality sector. The company, which floated an Indian arm called Hampshire Hotels and Resorts (India) Pvt Ltd, has lined up 25 hotels in major cities by 2011. On Thursday, it opened the first in the series at Hyderabad. “We are going to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the next four years. While 60 per cent of it would come through debt, the remaining Rs 2,000 crore would be equity participation from Hampshire Hotels and institutional partners from the US,” said Mr Chatwal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.The company earmarked Rs 500 crore for the three hotels it planned in Hyderabad. It has planned three categories of hotels – business, boutique (Dream) and super luxury brand.