SIUT expresses interest to acquire Regent Plaza

The owner of Regent Plaza, a five-star hotel in Karachi, has informed investors that the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Trust, a leading non-profit organization in the healthcare sector, has expressed interest in acquiring the hotel. 

The current market rate for PHDL's shares is Rs 220.04 per share and a 100 percent acquisition of the hotel at this rate would be worth Rs 3.96 billion. The company's latest annual accounts show that it values its main real estate at Rs 8.9 billion, with the hotel building valued at Rs 939.2 million.

PHDL, as reported in a recent stock filing, has revealed that the SIUT Trust intends to initiate a meticulous due diligence procedure on its property documents. Such a procedure entails a comprehensive evaluation of assets and liabilities, typically carried out by a prospective buyer.

As per reports, the share price of PHDL experienced a 7.5 percent increase on the day the news of SIUT Trust's interest was announced, which is the maximum allowed increase in a single session. Prior to this announcement, there was an "unusual movement" in the share price, leading the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) regulatory affairs department to seek an explanation from the company.

Regent Plaza Hotel and Convention Centre is situated on Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi, and covers an area of 13,200 square yards. The total covered area of the building is 47,034 square yards. PHDL also owns two other pieces of real estate in Thatta with a combined area of about 14 acres.

It is worth mentioning here that the hotel has 400 rooms with an occupancy rate of 20 percent for the 2021-22 financial year, a significant improvement from the 9 percent occupancy rate in the previous year, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first nine months of the 2022-23 financial year, PHDL posted a net profit of Rs45.5 million, down 38.3pc from the previous year.