Dubai’s Albwardy to buy Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel for US$20 million

Dubai-based Albwardy Investments yesterday said it would buy Zimbabwe’s Meikles Hotel for US$20 million and would upgrade what is one of the southern African nation’s most well-known establishments.

The current owner, Meikles Limited, has over the past few years struggled with low occupancy levels and has lacked foreign exchange to refurbish the property in Harare.

Albwardy said the investment had been approved by Zimbabwe’s stock exchange and competition commission, while the shareholders would vote on the transaction next month.

The Meikles Hotel provides a unique opportunity to invest in Zimbabwe’s leisure and business markets as a first mover,” Albwardy director of hospitality Laurie Ward said in a statement.

Albwardy is expected to spend up to $30 million in upgrading the hotel, an official from Meikles Hotel said.

The hotel, which was established in 1915, has 312 rooms.

It has consistently been voted  one of the best hotels in Zimbabwe and is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a prestigious hospitality organisation which represents some of the world’s most acclaimed hotels, spas and resorts.

Meikles Hotel has also won the prestigious Association of Zimbabwean Travel Agents (AZTA) award for Best City Hotel in Zimbabwe for an astonishing 15 consecutive years.-TR/Own

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