By acquiring a controlling 51 percent stake in Clarks Hotels & Resorts—consisting of ANK Hotels and Pride Hospitality—Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is looking at consolidating the mid-market hospitality space in the country in the coming years. The operator of Taj and Ginger brand of hotels inked share subscription and purchase pacts as well as shareholders’ agreements towards the deals. The ANK transaction will cost up to Rs 110 crore, while IHCL will pay up to Rs 94 crore for the Pride Hospitality stake, according to an ET story.
Announcing the strategic partnership in Delhi today, Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO, IHCL said that the journey of transforming Ginger brand into a “lean luxury” brand through renovations and refurbishments as well as setting up big box hotels in cities like Mumbai started around 2018-19 has given great dividends to the hotel company and the joining of properties through the new strategic acquisition platform will enable them to further consolidate the mid-market opportunity going forward.
Clarks Hotels & Resorts has around 135 hotels—80 under operations and the rest under development—across India and with nearly 106 operational Ginger hotels in the IHCL portfolio, the portfolio will get a huge boost in the mid-market space, he said.
“We have moved from a branded house in the Indian hospitality space to a House of brands,” Chhatwal said.
Talking about the Ginger portfolio and its performance, Chhatwal said that the reimagined properties of Ginger are performing extremely well producing margins of close to 55 percent and it has the potential to grow to 60 percent plus in the coming years. He felt that the contribution of Ginger portfolio in the total revenue of the company could grow to 10 percent soon.
“Ginger has the potential to be a 1,000 hotel brand in India,” he said, talking about the mid-market opportunities in the Indian market context.
Talking about the synergies, he said that through the partnership, ANK Hotels and Pride Hospitality will get to operate some of the existing big box Ginger properties, which will be equivalent to signing multiple smaller contracts.
IHCL also signed a marketing and distribution agreement with Brij Hospitality, which has a portfolio of 19 hotels under the Brij brand, primarily across India.
ANK Hotels, which operates and manages hotels under the umbrella of Clarks Hotels & Resorts, has a portfolio of 111 midscale hotels with 67 in operation, under brands such as Clarks Inn, Clarks Inn Suites, and Clarks Inn Premier. It recorded a revenue of Rs 14.32 crore in FY25, stated the ET report.
Pride Hospitality has a portfolio of 24 midscale hotels, with 13 hotels in operation. It operates and manages properties under brands such as Clarks Safari, Clarks Collection, and Clarks Resort. Pride Hospitality posted a revenue of Rs 18.94 crore in FY25, according to the same story in ET.
Anoop Kumar, founder of ANK Hotels Pvt Ltd said, “It is with great enthusiasm, that we move forward towards new vistas with India’s largest hotel group. Our forefathers, who sowed the seeds of the hospitality sector in India in 1947, will be proud.”
Aryavir Kumar, promoter of ANK Hotels Pvt Ltd, said, “Combining over 200 years of collective hospitality legacy, we come together with IHCL, part of the iconic Tata Group. Together, we are a powerhouse of energy with a shared vision for growth and transformation. This is more than a partnership — it is a union of legacies, ready to inspire the future.”
Anant Apurv Kumar and Udit Kumar. founders of Brij Hotels and promoters of Clarks Group of Hotels, jointly said, “Together with IHCL, we carry forward the shared vision of our respective founders, Jamshed Ji Tata and Babu Brijpal Das Ji, in shaping and propelling India’s tourism journey. IHCL’s legacy of showcasing Indian hospitality to the world resonates deeply with our core objective at Brij Hotels – to immerse travellers in the authentic spirit of India’s most storied destinations. Together, we will blend IHCL’s century-old tradition of excellence with our experiential approach, creating journeys that honour our shared heritage, nurture local communities, and reveal to the world the India that we love in its most beautiful and timeless form. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Vijay Thacker from Horwath HTL for helping facilitate this strategic alliance.”
