“Millennium did not exist in the Middle East, which was a good thing. We were starting something from scratch. Secondly it was important that we could work well together as partners with the same interests.
“Two minds met and we’ve been able to create a successful enterprise out of nothing,” he says.
Six years later and Lakhraim has high hopes for the enterprise: “Millennium is going to be the largest hotel group management company in MENA by far.
Advertisement
“I have no doubt by 2015 we will be sitting on top of the pyramid as the region’s most successful operating company,” asserts Lakhraim.
“Our success won’t come from natural growth, it will be based on agreements set up with local investors and high networth individuals, I will acquire hotel management companies and we are already in the process of converting some of our Emirates Hotels-owned properties into Millennium Hotels. We have a plan and we’re pursuing it very aggressively.”
Part of that plan will involve the group continuing to “educate” owners, he explains. “In this region, a lot of the time operators need to make the decision for the owner. Around 99% of people developing hotels do not know what they’re getting into. Often they’re doing it for their own ego or because someone else is and the majority of owners are real estate investors.
“People come to me and they do not know whether to establish a three star, a four star or a luxury hotel. We’re trying to educate the owners to develop the right product in the right place and at the right time. So we take the hands of the owners and guide them,” he explains.
Following this technique, the group aims to operate 100 hotels by 2015 across the MENA region.
But that is not Lakhraim’s only ambition. Eventually, when the “ship is cruising well” and he has appointed someone professional to continue the hotel group’s growth, Lakhraim will focus on something “closer to the soul rather than the bank account”.
“I want to concentrate on charity, health and education,” he says.
“There are a lot of poor countries and people who are in need in the Middle East and I would like to focus all of my time on helping them in the future, but not just now. Now is very busy,” he concludes.
Millennium timeline
1995: CDL Hotels International acquired the Copthorne group of hotels with properties in the UK, France and Germany, (a brand that had been growing since the mid-1980s), in a deal valued at US $359 million.
1996: Millennium & Copthorne Hotels PLC (formerly CDL Hotels) was floated on the London Stock Exchange.
1999 (Spring): Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc purchased the majority hotel interests of its main shareholder, CDL Hotels International Ltd in South East Asia and Australasia, for a sum of $912 million.
1999 (November): The company acquired the Seoul Hilton in Korea for $230 million.
1999 (December): The company acquired Regal Hotels in the US for a sum of $648million.
2000 (June): As part of a capital restructuring, CDL Hotels International sold its shareholdings in Millennium & Copthorne to City Developments
Ltd (CDL).
2000 (Autumn): CDL Hotels International changed its name to City e-Solutions Ltd, a hospitality solutions provider. Spearheading CES strategy, is SWAN Holdings LTD; jointly owned by CES and Millennium & Copthorne.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
