After making their mark in the telecommunications sector, Lebara Group is all set to enter the hospitality industry. AGI finds out
UK-based telecommunications giant Lebara Group have made a foray in the hospitality sector by acquiring a property in Chennai, which will be managed as a four-star hotel by the Indian Hotels Company .The 200–room hotel would be managed by the Taj Group of hotels under the Gateway brand. The Gateway Hotel is owned by LBR Hotels and Hospitality Services Pvt. Ltd, which is part of the Lebara Group.
Located on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, in the south of Chennai, the hotel aims to revitalise hospitality options in the area and its wider IT corridor. Ratheesan Yoganathan, co-owner and chairman of the Lebara Group, feels that this launch is an entry point for the Lebara Group and ‘heralds Lebara’s expansion into India and the hospitality industry’.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), India’s travel and tourism industry outperformed the entire wider economy in 2012 and will further outpace other notable industries such as manufacturing, financial services and retail. Even with increasing competition, Lebara’s leadership team and co-founders, Baskaran Kandiah and Leon Rasiah, is not shying away from competitive markets as Lebara’s growth has outstripped all expectations and has firmly established itself as the leading mobile virtual network operator.
Lebara’s initial product was international telephone calling cards, sold through independent mobile phone shops. Today, it is one of Europe’s leading mobile virtual network operators, providing low-cost international mobile products and services to customers across seven European countries and Australia. With this move the group hopes to make a mark in the hospitality sector as well.
