The board of Capital Hotel plc, one of the subsidiaries of, 22 Hospitality Limited which acquired majority stake in Sheraton hotel, Abuja, last year, has assured shareholders of Abuja Continental Hotel, formerly Sheraton Hotel that they will not regret it acquisition of majority stake in the company and subsequent change in top management .
This assurance was given by Barrister Paul Chukwuma Obi who represent the chairman of Capital Hotels plc, Ramesh Kansagra at the company’s annual general meeting held in Abuja. His was responding to concerns raised by some shareholders.
“We did same with our acquisition of 60% equity stake of ExxonMobil in Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc and today the company and its esteemed shareholders are better for it
The share price in the stock market has not only gone up but also massive infrastructure upgrade and new business opportunities opened for the company such as LPG plant , re entry into the Aviation fuel etc ”
Same will be replicated in Abuja Continental Hotel as management and employees are well focused and committed to stellar service delivery.
He allayed the apprehension of minority shareholders and assured them of easy exit but with a caution to think properly before divesting.
We have the pedigree and capacity to turn things around for the company – Capital Hotel plc.
Meanwhile, the chairman board of directors, Ramesh Kansagra in his address to the shareholders at the AGM stated that Capital Hotels Plc will continue to enhance its dominant position in the hospitality industry in the Abuja Market as the new rooms under renovation come into full operation in year 2023.
“The Hotel will continue its culture of excellent service delivery as the hallmark of our brand, a tradition we proudly improve on year-on-year. This is in addition to the homely ambience of the Hotel as well as its unbeatable cuisines. This tradition is borne out of our long-term confidence in the hospitality sector of the Nigerian
Economy.”
Earlier some of the shareholders have commended the new owner of the company saying that the acquisition of majority shareholding by Capital Hotels is a dream comes true.
Chief Innocent Nwokocha Peters – Chairman Noble Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said : “The coming of 22 Hospitality Limited in the acquisition of majority stake in Capital Hotel plc is a dream come through as hope of better days for the company has risen”
He said the rehabilitation of the Abuja Continental Hotel, formerly Sheraton Hotel is gradually bringing more life into the hospitality firm even as the popular events centre in the Iconic hotel is coming up again
Another plus for the new owners is the clearing of all outstanding gratuities of employees of the hotel and new staff given better contract of service
Acknowledging the loss incurred by the company in 2022 financial year ,he said, the situation is clearly understandable in view of the deplorable way the hotel was prior to the new ownership and the huge sums of money being expended on its rehabilitation
Also, chief Augustine Ezechukwu – President Capital Shareholders in his reaction, commended the new management and core investor / majority shareholder in the hotel – 22 Hospitality Limited for the recent rising improvement and peerless services being rendered by the hotel.
He said it was not a fluke as the parent company of the new investor – NIPCO Investment had made dramatic positive changes in 11plc, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc a s similar things is gradually creeping into Abuja Continental Hotel
He pleaded for patience on the part off minority shareholders of Capital Hotel plc stressing more improvement will be seen in the Hotel to translate into more clients and subsequently more revenue.
The highlights of the 2022 financial performance of the company indicates that during the year under review, Capital Hotels Plc posted an average top-line result.
Its Turnover rose from N3.83bn in 2021 to N5.33bn in 2022 and Cost of sales fueled by cost of restructuring rose to N5.83bn in 2022 from N3.27bn in 2021, thereby posting a loss for the year. The net assets of the Hotel increased by 75.2% to N24.99bn in 2022, mainly due to the share premium that arose from the new
shares allotted to the majority shareholder during the year.