The Tourist Company of Nigeria, owners of the iconic Federal Place Hotel & Casino has reported that it made a net loss of 5.5 billion loss for the first half of the year.
The result also showed that the company’s revenue fell from NGN3,2 billion in 2015 half year to NGN2,8 billion between January to June this year.
It could be recalled that Sun International, a 48% shareholder and strategic partner with the company pulled out of the partnership citing management disagreement and series of legal battle that engulfed the company.
Corporate information
The Tourist Company of Nigeria (“Company”) was incorporated on 10 April 1964 as The Tourist Company of Nigeria Limited, at that stage wholly-owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, to acquire the Federal Palace Hotel (“the Palace Hotel”).
The Palace Hotel, built at the dawn of Nigeria’s independence in 1960, was previously owned by Victoria Beach Hotel Limited, a member of the AG Leventis group. The Company was converted to a public liability company on 20 April 1994, when it also assumed its present name. The Palace Hotel was designed and built to a very high standard: it was to be, and indeed it was, the premier international hotel in the country at the time. It is worth noting that the celebration of Nigeria’s independence from the United Kingdom took place in the Hotel’s Independence Hall in 1960. The 15 floor Suites Hotel (also known as the Towers) was built to coincide with the Summit of the Heads of State of the African Union and the Festival of African Arts and Culture, held in Nigeria in 1977. In 1992, Ikeja Hotel Plc, in association with another investor (collectively the “Ikeja Hotel Group”) acquired The Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc from the Federal Government.
In 2009 and 2010, Sun International Limited acquired a substantial shareholding in the Company, thereby becoming an equal shareholder with the Ikeja Hotel Group of shareholders. Following the acquisition of the Company from the Federal Government, a comprehensive and phased refurbishment of the Palace Hotel was undertaken and it was re-opened in July 2008. The Towers Hotel was closed for refurbishment in June 2009 and has yet to be re-opened. A modern casino was opened in December 2009, a new banqueting facility in January 2010, and the Pool Club in September 2010.
More details shortly…
