Singha and Fico established a 50-50 joint venture on Oct. 1, and bought all outstanding shares of JHH from existing shareholders through the new company. It is Singha's first large investment overseas.
JHH posted 74.26 million pounds in sales and a net profit of 3.86 million pounds for the fiscal year through December 2014. It operates 26 medium-grade hotels under the Mercure brand across the U.K. with a total of about 2,900 guest rooms.
According to documents submitted by Singha to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, JHH had a room occupancy rate of 66% and its daily average revenue from accommodations stood at 62 pounds per room in 2014.
Singha reportedly concluded that the acquisition of JHH would pose a low business risk because JHH's hotels are conveniently located. It also expects that investing in overseas hotels will allow it to diversify risks. All of Singha's operations are currently in Thailand.
Credit and view full story at Nikkei
