Press Release
February 10, 2000
STUTTGART -- Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is planning to double its portfolio within three to five years.
President and CEO Jean Gabriel Pérès said “We are well on the way to achieving our aggressive expansion
target of adding 8 to 10 hotels per year in Europe, Middle East and Africa. These projects are part of our organic
growth strategy, which is supported by other acquisition and merger deals we are currently evaluating”.
In line with this goal, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts announces three new hotel projects in Egypt. These
include a Golf Hotel and a 4 star business hotel near Cairo and a 5 star holiday resort on the Red Sea. This expansion
will bring the number of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts in Egypt to eleven and one Nile cruiser.
The international Hotel Group will open two new establishments in the Egyptian capital in 2002. A 5-star hotel
in Obour City, a district of Cairo, will have 250 rooms and suites, 4 restaurants, 3 bars and a coffee shop. For
fitness and relaxation a lavish spa, tennis courts and a neighbouring 18-hole golf course await guests. This Mövenpick
Hotel will place particular emphasis on banqueting and meeting facilities; two conference halls each seating 450
and two rooms, each with capacity 80, as well as an exhibition area of 3,600 m² will be available for all
types of events. The adjacent shopping mall and local theatres offer a wide range of leisure choices directly on
the doorstep.
The second new project in this region is on the edge of Cairo in the "6th of October City". The hotel
will be part of the "Media Production City 2" - a site of modern industrial complexes and large corporate
facilities. The hotel will feature several speciality and theme restaurants, 2 bars, a patisserie and bakery as
well as a pool snack-bar. For fitness and relaxation there will be a swimming pool, a children's pool, 3 tennis
courts and a children's club. A multi-purpose conference hall, catering for events with up to 350 people, will
complete the facilities offered.
On the Red Sea coast, renowned for sun, sea and diving, between Hurghada and Mersa Alam, Mövenpick Hotels
& Resorts are simultaneously constructing an exclusive 5-star resort.
The Mövenpick Resort Red Sea Sharm, due to open in 2001, is currently being constructed on the "Oriental
Coast" of the Red Sea between Safaga and Mersa Alam. Offering all the infra-structure necessary for an ideal
conference or holiday in Egypt, it will include 243 rooms and suites, numerous restaurants and bars as well as
two interconnecting conference rooms (60 m² each). The most demanding fitness or health connoisseur will be
satisfied with the choice of a heated freshwater pool, a sea water pool with whirlpool, a fitness and spa centre,
4 tennis courts with floodlighting and a full programme of sporting activities. There will also be a children's
pool, a Snoopy- and an Adventure-Club.
New Project in Lebanon
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts which has recently signed new projects in Egypt is adding a further operation
to its Middle Eastern portfolio: A new 4-star hotel in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, which will open by 2001.
Strategically located only a few minutes from Beirut city center and catering for both business and leisure travelers,
the new project is a beachfront hotel near the famous Raouche Rock. The Mövenpick Hotel Beirut will be a 284
room four-star international hotel, with 69 luxury chalets, numerous cabins, seven speciality restaurants, in-
and outdoor fitness facilities, conference and convention space, a 165 boat Marina with an access tunnel, and 50-car
surface parking.
HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud, owner of Kingdom Company which holds a 30% interest in Mövenpick
Hotels & Resorts, has taken complete ownership of the Mövenpick Hotel Beirut by increasing his 50% existing
share of the property to a full 100%.
About Mövenpick
Focus on quality and international growth
Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts current portfolio comprises 40 Hotels with 7753 rooms and 13,000 beds. MH&R
has strong brand value on its core markets, a highly trained and motivated work-force and a clear mission: “to
delight our guests with uncompromising quality of product and service and to give all our employees the chance
to realise their own potential”. The group is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy based on maximising profitability,
core brand values and the company expertise-capital. The aim is to more than double the size of the current portfolio
within the next three to five years.
Founded by UIi Prager in 1948 in Switzerland, Mövenpick combined traditional Swiss values of quality, hygiene
and service with the then ground-breaking concepts of ambience, efficiency and informality. Along with the expertise-capital
within the firm, these values, still uniquely associated with the brand, are making Mövenpick make highly
sought-after management partner.
Thus management contracts, financial participation and ambitious new Mövenpick projects are the vehicles of
the company growth now happening. Development will be focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Healthy Financial Basis
The financial basis for expansion has been created. Mövenpick Holding owns 60% of Mövenpick Hotels &
Resorts AG, which was established during 1998. The investment bank J.P. Morgan bought 10% while the remaining 30%
was bought by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the majority shareholder of the investment group
Kingdom Holding.
Mövenpick Hospitality
Whether in Europe, Africa, the Middle or the Far East, all of the 40 MH&Rs offer the same level of comfort,
convenience and service. Guests can feel at home and relax immediately. But that doesn’t mean predictability. Every
Resort and Hotel has been designed to maximise customer benefit within the unique context of each location. The
quality of furnishings, safety and staff-training are evidence of the internationally respected Swiss company origins.
If Uli Prager’s atypical version of Swiss neutrality means not judging a guest who wants breakfast at noon, Mövenpick
hospitality means that the breakfast will be excellent. Choice ingredients and an unrivalled gastronomic heritage
make MH&R restaurants extremely popular; attracting walk-in customers whilst keeping guests more than satisfied.
The two segments within Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts are aimed at the business traveller and the tourist respectively.
Hotels are mostly in city locations or near airports, while the resorts are attractive tourist destinations: A
special example is the Mövenpick Dead Sea Resort & Spa in Jordan – a impressive 5-star resort in a unique
Middle Eastern setting.
Mövenpick is one of the largest foreign hotel operator in Jordan and Egypt and has recently signed management
contracts in Accra (Ghana), Egypt and Aqaba (Jordan). "Mövenpick is a highly respected throughout Europe
and the Middle East, and we will continue to underscore our Swiss brand values of innovation, efficient customer
driven hotel management and strong gastronomic expertise" states Jean Gabriel Pérès, President
& CEO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts.
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Contact:
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts,
Eva-Maria Panzer,
PR Manager Europe
Esslinger Strasse 7, D-70771
Leinfelden-Echterdingen,
Tel. +49 +711/9493-202,
http://www.movenpick-hotels.com
Eva-Maria.Panzer@moevenpick.de