International Hotel Investments, part of the Corinthia Group, will soon take over the disused Ħal-Ferħ holiday complex at Għajn Tuffieħa.

This will be possible after the Island Hotels Group, which IHI owns, acquires the remaining 50 per cent of Heavenly Collection Ltd that owns 85,000 square metres of land for development at Ħal-Ferħ.

Heavenly Collection is owned jointly by IHG itself and Mediterranean Overseas Holdings. The directors are Winston Zahra and his son, who bears the same name, Austrian Franz Deutsch and Singaporean Sim Boon Kwang.

The announcement of the acquisition was made by IHI when reporting its interim results but it gave no further details about its plans for the €80 million Ħal-Ferħ development, which was granted a Mepa permit in February 2013.

Island Hotels acquired the perpetual emphyteusis over Ħal Ferh for around €12 million following a public tender issued by the government in March 2010.

Tripoli hotel is in readiness for business once there is a return to normality on the political front

Since Island Hotels was acquired by IHI in July, it in turn bought the remaining 50 per cent ownership of Buttigieg Holdings, the catering company owning, among others, the Costa franchise in Malta and on the Eastern coast of Spain.

IHI, part of the Corinthia Group, is now the sole owner of the Radisson Blu Resort at St George’s Bay, adjacent to the Corinthia Hotel St George’s Bay, Costa Coffee and Island Group catering.

IHI said it intended to amalgamate both the industrial catering of IHI (Catermax) and that of Island Caterers into one activity, although it would retain the two separate brands.

IHG/IHI also owns half of the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa at Golden Sands.

The Radisson Blu Resort & Spa at Golden Sands. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

The IHI directors said the integration of Island Hotels had resulted in “substantial savings” as a result of a stronger combined purchasing position in Malta.

They reported that the company expected to end 2015 with an Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) across the group of €47 million. Excluding the six months’ results of Island Hotels, the Ebitda results for IHI properties will show a 16 per cent increase over 2014. Similarly, CHI Ltd, the Corinthia’s management company, is expected to register record profits in 2015.

IHI said it expected record results from all its hotels. Current forecasts indicate record profit performance in all of IHI’s hotels in Budapest, Prague, Lisbon, Malta, London and even St Petersburg (in roubles).

The Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli has had a major upgrade and is now partially opened but with very limited guest numbers.

“However, the property is in readiness for business once there is a return to normality on the political front,” IHI said.

It confirmed that new development and management agreements were expected with third-party investors in cities and resorts across Europe and the Gulf as had been reported during an interview with The Business Observer last February.

The group did not give any updates on its plans to construct a mixed-use development at St George’s Bay, saying only that “discussions were under way”.