International Hotels Investments plc, Corinthia Group's development arm, "would like to expand in other cities like Moscow" but did not exclude other projects being undertaken in St Petersburg, group chairman and IHI chief executive officer Alfred Pisani said on Monday.
Briefing the Russian press just before the inauguration of the €100 million refurbishment and extension of the Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel, Mr Pisani said the company's intention was to add practical value to the country's second largest city.
Acknowledging local authorities' satisfaction that the costly project had forged ahead despite the recession, Mr Pisani pledged the group's presence in St Petersburg even in challenging times. Seventy per cent of the original master plan for the Corinthia Nevskij Palace Hotel, flanked by the Nevskij Plaza, a commercial centre, has been completed - and on time.
With its 400 rooms, a ballroom for 600 guests, and conference facilities for 1,200 people, the hotel, at 57, Nevskij Prospect, St Petersburg's main boulevard, now boasts the most extensive facilities within any luxury property in the city. A new executive wing incorporates 107 luxury suites and bedrooms, a 250-square metre Presidential Suite, and an executive lounge.
Last year, IHI's reported a profit of €14 million, up 40 per cent from 2007. The company is actively looking at potential properties to add to the Corinthia chain in New York, Rome, and Paris, among other cities, while construction work at its London flagship hotel progresses in time for opening on October 10, 2010. Meanwhile, the directors are discussing the timeline of the company's planned secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange to coincide with an upturn in investor sentiment.
IHI acquired the Nevskij Palace Hotel as an operating hotel in 2002 and instantly became part of the local community, even contributing to restoring city landmarks.
At the time, the company also bought the adjacent, endangered buildings to be developed into Nevskij Plaza. Structural work on No 55 and No 59 - originally an 18th century palace - was completed a few weeks ago and labourers are adding the finishing touches. IHI officials say there is "strong interest" in the prime commercial space. No. 55, a mall and office block, will be officially inaugurated later this year.
IHI also owns three properties at the rear of the hotel, Nos. 6, 8, and 10 on Stremyannaya Ulitsa. No. 8 houses the hotel extension made during a refit in the 1990s. No. 6 is earmarked for a multi-storey car park with over 200 spaces and business facilities behind its restored elevation. No. 10 will be converted into a luxury spa and office space.
The total footprint of the six properties is 12,000 metres.
Over the weekend, the hotel was teeming with overseas conference delegates as it hosted two major events in succession. IHI believes the newly unveiled conference and guest facilities will boost a marketing drive to attract more business travellers and large-scale meetings.
The hotel is firmly established as a business venue and is favoured by foreign executives and government figures. It was also at the centre of the G8 summit in the city in 2006.
The 300-strong team at the hotel, which enjoys an average occupancy of 70 per cent, is led by general manager Assad Farag.
St Petersburg hosts three million foreign visitors and one million domestic tourists every year. The city governor, Valentina Matvienko, the former Russian ambassador to Malta who officially inaugurated the hotel on Monday, has worked hard to channel funds into restoration.
St Petersburg has been turned around in 10 years, with significant numbers of its five million-strong population becoming increasingly affluent.
The crisis has led people to tighten their purse strings however, and some designer stores on Nevskij Prospect were offering discounts of up to 50 per cent this week, while assistants in others were idle.