Egyptian hotel group Onomo moves into South Africa
Egypt-based ONOMO Hotels has entered the South African hotel management sector with the acquisition of three properties: the iconic Inn on the Square in Cape Town, the Signature Lux Hotel and brand in Sandton, and a newly-constructed ONOMO Hotel in Durban, due to open in March.
These acquisitions form part of the ONOMO Hotels Group’s expansion strategy into major business districts and capital cities on the African continent. The latest transactions bring the group’s portfolio to 10 hotels across Africa with representation in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Mali, Togo, Guinea, Rwanda and South Africa.
Samantha Annandale, Regional Operational Director of South and East Africa, said: “With so many international companies exiting Africa and investment leaving our shores, it is encouraging to see that our group has a fully focussed African strategy. We have exceptional confidence in Africa, especially in the hospitality space and with our strong development pipeline we aim to become one of the leading hotel chains in Africa, for Africa.” As proof of this confidence, the recent South African deals have been via a purchase and management basis, in that the group will own and operate their properties.”
ONOMO’s is planning a pan-African growth acceleration by expanding its presence into Cameroon, Congo, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania and Ethiopia.
The group is focussed on opportunities in corporate, city hotels positioned in the mid-market bracket to develop their pipeline ambition of making ONOMO Hotels the leading pan-African hospitality platform in the three-star market segment.
The Onomo International group was created in 2009 by Philippe Colleu and Christian Mure, with the support of African businessmen with a capital of 20 million euros by 2010. Dakar is the first to open in 2010, Abidjanin 2011 and Libreville in 2012. The Batipart group becomes the majority shareholder in 2013.
