George Copos’s hotels expecting turnover to exceed euro 40 mln

Hotels in the portfolios of Ana Hotels and the Athenee Phoenix Group, companies controlled by businessperson and former Deputy Prime Minister George Copos, will have an estimated total turnover of €43.6 million in 2007, up by 10 percent compared to 2006.

“Analyzing H1 results and the trend for the remainder of the year, we estimate that total business of ANA Holding’s companies in the hotel industry will amount to €43.6 mln. Calculations include market trends, business structure, and evolution of the economy,” said Simona Constantinescu, member of the Managing Board and former CEO at Ana Hotels.

The Ana Hotels  company includes seven entities - the five-star Crowne Plaza in Bucharest, three-star Astoria Hotel, four-star Europa, with the ANA Aslan Health&SPA in Eforie Nord, and another three three-star hotels in Poiana Brasov (Sportul, Bradul and Poiana). The company is also main shareholder of Athenee Phoenix Group, owner of the five-star hotel Athenee Palace Hilton in Bucharest.

In 2007, H1 brought Ana Hotels total revenue of €10.7 mln, up 20.18 percent compared to the first half of 2006. The 
Athenee Phoenix Group registered a 6.42 percent increase in turnover for H1, amounting to €10.76 mln.
Ana Hotels invested some €2 mln to renovate and equip the Crowne Plaza kitchen, and a further €6 mln to finalize the construction of ANA Holding offices. The Athenee Palace Hilton also benefits from a €2.3 mln investment in renovations and equipment of hotel and conference rooms.

The company estimates that the NATO summit in April 2008 will ensure and inflow of clients. “There are chances that most hotels will maximize their revenues in that period,” said Simona Constantinescu.

The six important players on the five-star hotel market in Bucharest - JW Marriott, Athenee Palace Hilton, Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental, Howard Johnson, and Casa Capsa - reported combined turnover for 2006 of RON 335 mln (€95 mln), 8 percent higher than in 2005, according to the Ministry for Economy and Finance.