The M A Kharafi Group has created an independent hospitality, tourism and real estate investment company based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Sovereign Hospitality Holdings will have regional offices in South Africa and Egypt. The company expand through strategic acquisitions, financing and developing assets in the hotel, real estate and tourism industry in Singapore and worldwide.

Sovereign Hospitality Holdings has seamlessly integrated assets of $800 million to date, and is a member of the M A Kharafi Group, a Fortune 500 company registered in Kuwait with an annual turnover of $4 billion. The group operates in 25 countries and employs more than 100,000 employees worldwide.

Sovereign Hospitality Holdings’ existing portfolio consists of 21 hotels and resorts with over 4,000 rooms which it owns and operates in Egypt, South Africa, The Gambia, Syria, Lebanon and Albania. Further projects are under development in Libya, Senegal, Ethiopia and Mauritania. 

Sovereign Hospitality Holdings is looking to expand in both emerging and established markets.  This will be achieved through a mixture of organic development and portfolio acquisitions that are financed and thereafter proactively managed. The portfolio is set to increase significantly with the completion of 11 further unique hospitality developments which will encompass some 1,800 additional rooms reaching a total of 5,800 rooms over the next three years, totalling 32 hotels in 10 countries, the statement said.

In addition to owning and managing its hotels, Sovereign Hospitality Holdings has management agreements in place with a number of well regarded hotel management companies including Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt International, Rotana Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Six Senses Spa.

Recent developments in the last month include the signing of a management agreement with Hyatt International for the 100-room Hyatt Regency Oubaai, due to open in George, on South Africa’s Garden Route, in early 2010. 

Sovereign Hospitality Holdings has also recently signed an agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group, to develop a 370-room InterContinental Hotel in the heart of Damascus, Syria, due for completion in 2010.  Under the M.A. Kharafi Group, the land will be developed and the city’s only integrated mixed use development created, which will include an InterContinental Hotel, shopping mall, cinema complex, office space, world-class conference centre, meeting rooms, ballrooms, specialty shops, health club and spa.

In addition Sovereign Hospitality Holdings has signed a further agreement with InterContinental Hotels Group to develop a site in Dakar, Senegal on the west coast of Africa.  The M.A. Kharafi Group will invest in excess of $250million in the development of a life-style residential estate, including an InterContinental Hotel which is expected to be completed in 2010.  The site overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and when completed, the estate will offer 250 rooms, restaurants, conference centre, business centre, retail space, spa, swimming pools and ocean swimming platform. 

Mohamed Fahmy, chief executive of Sovereign Hospitality Holdings said: “Our objective, with the support of the Kharafi Group, is to expand through strategic acquisitions in Singapore and worldwide. We have a successful track record and a longterm approach to foster strategic relationships with partners to deliver solid returns through high yield opportunities in both emerging and established markets”-TradeArabia News Service