Zimpapers Logo

Zimbabwe Ambassador to South Africa Isaac Moyo (third from right) with Legacy chairman Bart Dorrestein (third from left), Harare Mayor Bernard Manyenyeni (partly obscured (right) and the Brainworks Capital and African Sun team at the ceremony to celebrate the partnership between Legacy and AfSun

Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE presents vast investment opportunities, which investors who can perform on the world stage, should take advantage of, a senior Government official said.

The Zimbabwe Ambassador to South Africa, Isaac Moyo, said the opportunities are available to investors who are able to manage global brands, attract the tourists and establish viable businesses and create jobs.

“Zimbabwe is open for business; we invite you to invest in our country. That has been and is now more possible with the commitment the Government of Zimbabwe has made to promote foreign investment into our country,” Ambassador Moyo said.

Ambassador Moyo was speaking at the African Sun Limited stakeholders briefing in South Africa following its partnership with Legacy Group of South Africa.

The Legacy Group will invest more than $60 million in hotel development and refurbishment of the ASL hotels in Harare, Victoria Falls and Nyanga as the first phase of this partnership. The investment will allow the company to match the regional and global market trends.

Announcing the company’s new business model at the South African meeting, African Sun Limited board chairman Mr Herbert Nkala said the new business model will see many changes happening in the group.

He said in principle it is a move away from the traditional In-House Hotel Management Model to a “Hotel Investment Model”.

“Under this model we will globalise our hotels by contracting International Hotel Management companies of repute to manage selected hotels in the group,” said Mr Nkala.

“To this end, we approached six international hotel management super brands and conducted rigorous assessments. It is as a result of this exercise that I have great pleasure to introduce the Legacy Group of Hotels. Legacy is the brand and International Hotel Management Company that we have decided to partner with to take ASL to a whole new level of service delivery and competitiveness of our selected hotels,” he said.

Mr Nkala said the South African market is already familiar with the Legacy Group and such goodwill will benefit ASL.

“I am pleased to announce the appointment of The Legacy Group to manage five of our prime hotels with effect from the October 1st 2015. Legacy will take over management and embark on major refurbishment of the Elephant Hills Resort and Conference Centre, The Kingdom at Victoria Falls, Hwange Safari Lodge, Troutbeck Resort and Monomotapa Hotel,” said Mr Nkala.

“We at the very minimum expect Legacy to spend approximately $60 million in refurbishments and expansion over the next 3 years with major refurbishments at Elephant Hills starting within the coming 8 weeks,” he said.

The new look ASL group will have three strategic business units.

Firstly, The Legacy Group SBU with the five hotels; secondly, the International Hotels Group (IHG), another hotel super brand, retained its right to continue with the franchising structure with respect to the Holiday Inn Harare and Holiday Inn Bulawayo and the soon to be re-branded Holiday Inn Mutare.

The third SBU is in charge of the unbranded hotels business unit which will be made up of The Victoria Falls Hotel, an affiliate of The Leading Hotels of the World, which is currently being operated with Meikles Hotel.

“Under this unit will also fall three of our remaining hotels: Caribbea Bay Resort which needs major refurbishment, Great Zimbabwe Hotel which needs an extensive product revamp and Beitbridge Express Hotel whose viability is still being assessed. These three hotels will continue to be managed by ASL until their future is decided,” said Mr Nkala.