UK-based C&C Alpha Grp to invest about Rs 1,500 cr in India

London-based C&C Alpha Group (CCAG), a leading international private equity firm, on Friday said it is looking at investing about Rs 1,500 crore in healthcare and hospitality sectors over the next three to five years in India. "We will now be looking for new investment opportunities in healthcare and other speciality services in India, which provide a big investment opportunity. The Group plans to invest about Rs 1,500 crore in the healthcare and hospitality sectors over the next 3 to 5 year horizon in India," CCAG Founder and NRI businessman Bhanu Choudhrie said in a statement here.

"In hospitality, we have already planned to add about 1,800 rooms in India under three brands - Hyatt, Four Points and Aloft Hotels - to take our total strength to about 3,000 rooms. In addition to this, the C&C Alpha Group is also building a 200-beds super specialty hospital in South Delhi, for which we have already acquired the land," Choudhrie said. The C&C Alpha Group is an investment holding company that incubates, grows and creates value for its portfolio companies.

It has a track record of successfully incubating businesses around the world in healthcare, hospitality, real estate, aviation, utilities and agriculture, Choudhrie said. CCAG already has presence in India through The Shanti Hospitality group, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Its hospitality brands in India include, Ista Hotels, Ananda in the Himalayas, Amritara Resorts and Nidra Hotels, which has ambitious expansion plans of adding fourteen hotels in the next 7 years period.

By bringing together entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, project managers and financial analysts, we aim to create stakeholder value by organic growth and strategic partnerships. We typically invest 2m-40m per transaction and take a mid-to-long-term view of our investments, he said. CCAG said it has completed the sale of UK-based Alpha Hospitals to Cygnet Healthcare at an approximate sale value in excess of Rs 970 crore.

Alpha Hospitals is the largest provider of specialist psychiatric care in England, working with adults and adolescents, who require treatment in a secure setting. It runs state-of-the-art facilities in Bury, Sheffield and Woking with more than 300 beds in total and employs more than 1,000 staff.