malvernmugadzikwa
Business Reporter
LOCAL hotelier, African Sun Limited has announced that it will be leaving Kingdom at Victoria Falls Hotel after operating at the hotel since 1966.
The hotel was operating under a lease from Makasa Sun private limited the proprietor of the hotel for the last 55 years.
African Sun’s departure from the property, however, comes after a successful tender for the hotel’s lease conducted in 2021.
In a statement released on Zimbabwe Stock Exchange today African Sun secretary Venon Musimbe said the resolution to withdrawal from Kingdom was tough but inevitable so as to safeguard investors interests.
“The decision to exit the Hotel has not been an easy one for the Board but was necessary and unavoidable to protect shareholder value in the circumstances.
“The exit is coming after African Sun had been successful in the 2021 tender for the Hotel’s lease, however, despite this success, a mutually agreeable lease tenure could not be reached, with the Landlord only willing to offer a lease of two years against the Group’s ask of a tenure of at least ten years in its tender,” said Mr Musimbe.
Bongani Ndlovu