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Minor International was founded in 1976 as Royal Garden Resorts
following the acquisition of a small hotel in Pattaya with 30
bungalows and 27 rooms that had previously been a popular rest
and recreation center for American servicemen. Over the next
thirty-five years, this original complex was renovated several
times as it was progressively enlarged to its current size of
292 rooms.
In 1988, the Company was listed on the Stock Exchange of
Thailand to provide capital for new projects. The first of
these projects was the 16,000 sm Royal Garden Plaza shopping
center that opened in 1992 adjacent to the hotel in Pattaya.
In the same year, RGR also acquired 20% of the Marriott Royal
Garden Riverside Hotel in Bangkok and 26% each in the Royal
Garden Resort Hua Hin and Royal Garden Village Hua Hin.
In 1993, the Company opened the Ripley’s Believe It or Not
Museum at the plaza in Pattaya to provide a major tourist
draw in the area. A second museum was later added in 1997
in Hongkong at the Peak Tram in a joint-venture with the Hongkong
& Shanghai Hotel group.
The Company expanded its hotel operations in 1995 through
a share swap that allowed it to acquire the balance of the
two Hua Hin properties and bring its stake up to 100%. It
also opened the luxurious Regent Resort Chieng Mai that is
now recognised as one of the world’s leading resorts.
This expansion policy accelerated in 1998 and 1999 with the
acquisition of a 30% interest in the Regent Bangkok Hotel
and the increase in the Company’s stake in the Marriott Royal
Garden Riverside Hotel to 51%. The year 1999 also saw the
founding of the Mandara Spa Thailand, which has since become
Thailand’s premier spa operator.
In 2000 and 2001, RGR continued to increase its equity position
in its existing properties with its position in the Marriott
Royal Garden Riverside reaching 74%, and the Regent Chieng
Mai 45% (directly and indirectly). The Company also acquired
72 rai of freehold land on Koh Samui for development of a
new five-star resort.
RGR also expanded its existing relationship with Marriott
International in 2001 by completing the re-branding of the
two Royal Garden Resorts in Pattaya and Hua Hin to Marriott
Resort & Spa’s. At the same time, the Royal Garden Village
Hua Hin became The Anantara Resort & Spa following an
extensive renovation and expansion. In September 2001, RGR
acquired 30% of the Minor Food Group Pcl in a tender offer
while December saw the opening of the new 265 room JW Marriott
Phuket Resort & Spa
In 2002, the Marriott Phuket Vacation Village opened alongside
the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa offering a purpose
built timeshare resort. This opening was soon followed by
the acquisition of the 110 room Baan Boran Resort in Chiang
Rai that sits on 800 rai of tropical gardens and bamboo rainforest.
Following an extensive renovation, this property was opened
as the Anantara Golden Triangle in late 2003.
The Company raised its equity interest in mid-2003 in the
Minor Food Group to 98% through a tender offer and began to
consolidate its results from 3Q 2003 onwards. In October 2003,
the first international Pizza Company franchised restaurant
opened in Kuwait signaling the start of new business for the
group. During the course of the year, the Company also increased
its beneficial interest in the Regent Chieng Mai from 44%
to 58% and in the Regent Bangkok from 31% to 49%. These transactions
culminated in November 2003 with the rebranding of both properties
to Four Seasons.
During 2004, the Minor Food Group continued its international
growth with new franchisees for The Pizza Company and Swensen’s
signed in China, the Philippines, Qatar, Oman, the United
Arab Emirates and Cambodia. We also returned to China through
two joint ventures. In April 2004, we announced a joint venture
for Beijing with the investment arm of AIG from the United
States and followed this in October with a second joint venture
with the parent company of Sizzler to jointly franchise Sizzler
in China. In late 2004, the Company completed the acquisition
of 100% of the Minor Food Group and followed this in January
2005 with its de-listing from the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Our hospitality and leisure operations also expanded aggressively
in 2004 as we increased our interest in the Marriott Vacation
Villas in Phuket from 15% to 50% and in the JW Marriott Phuket
from 50% to 100% during the year. We also increased our stake
in the highly successful Mandara Spa operations in Thailand
and China from 51% to 100% as we prepare to enter new markets
across Asia and the Middle East under the Mandara and Anantara
brands. In November 2004, we opened a third Anantara in Samui
while a fourth Anantara, the Anantara Royal Coco Palm in Khao
Lak, came under our management in August 2004, but this property
was heavily damaged in the December tsunamis and reconstruction
plans are still being reviewed.
In January 2005, the first new Pizza Company and Sizzler
restaurants opened in Beijing. Their promising success heralds
a new chapter in the long and successful history of MINT’s
food service operations. Future plans in our hospitality division
include the development of a new Four Season’s resort and
residential property development in Koh Samui together with
a 15 room Four Seasons Tented Camp in Chiang Rai. The Company
plans to continue developing and managing additional resort,
vacation residential and spa properties in Thailand and other
Asian markets.
With the completion of the acquisition and subsequent de-listing
of the Minor Food Group in January 2005, a majority of the
Company’s revenues are not hotel related and our aspirations
are to expand internationally beyond our roots in Thailand
through our branded hotel, spa and food services. To better
reflect our current and future business operations while also
leveraging on the rich heritage and recognition of the Minor
Group, we completed a name change in February 2005 to Minor
International Pcl and now trade under the symbol “MINT” on
the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
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