Dhammika to consolidate his hotels in the South

Businessman Dhammika Perera, after his Hayleys-led ambitious forays into Singer PLC and Sri Lanka Shipping Company, is expanding his leisure sector business in the South.

After gaining control of the majority stake in the Beach Resort Ltd. for Rs. 330 million last December with plans to invest Rs. 2.1 billion for another resort through one of his companies, Mr. Perera has medium term plans to build two hotels in Mirissa, officials told the Business Times.

Both lands are 3.5 acres each, they said adding that they are beachfront properties ideal to build hotels, they said.

As per Colombo Stock Exchange filings last December, Mr. Perera purchased 6,176,790 shares representing 84.30 per cent of the equity stake in the Beach Resort Ltd from Amaya Leisure PLC for Rs. 330 million.

Amaya Leisure said that it decided to divest these shares to rationalise the investment portfolio of the company.

In another stock exchange filing in December, Mr. Perera’s Fortress Resorts announced an investment of Rs. 2.1 billion to build a beach resort in Weligama by one of its subsidiaries – La Forteresse (Pvt) which has invested Rs. 364 million in Alila Hotels & Resorts (Pvt) Ltd to purchase a land from LB Finance to develop the beach resort.

According to the filing, Alila Hotels & Resorts (Pvt) Ltd has purchased three acres from LB Finance. The officials said that they’ll be changing ‘Alila’ as another hotel which started before this hotel had that same name. “It will be done within this year,” an official said.