Minor Hotels and The Cavaleros Group Sign Hotel Agreement to Debut South Africa’s first NH Collection

By Rafiq Vayani

DUBAI: Minor Hotels, an international hotel owner, operator and investor with more than 540 hotels in 56 countries in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe and the Americas, is pleased to announce the signing of a strategic partnership with The Cavaleros Group to manage a hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa. The signing represents the upcoming debut of Minor Hotels’ NH Collection brand on the African continent.

From July 1st 2024 the group will manage the hotel in Sandton, the financial district of South Africa’s largest city. The 329-key property will first operate as NH Sandton and subsequently, following an extensive refurbishment of the property, will be rebranded as NH Collection Sandton.

This iconic hotel, spanning 30 years of successful operation is located in Sandton, Johannesburg, approximately twenty kilometres from O.R Tambo International Airport. NH Sandton will offer a selection of guest room categories including lead-in rooms, suites, one-bedroom suites and the 145 square metre Royal Suite. Facilities at the property will include two restaurants and two bars, an executive lounge, conference facilities, in addition to a gym and large outdoor swimming pool.

The Cavaleros Group was established in South Africa in 1926, with the property arm being established in 1967 by the late Cosmas Cavaleros (Founder and Chairman), led by Penny Cavaleros (Chief Executive Officer) and Alexi Cavaleros (Head of International Acquisitions). The Cavaleros Group is one of the largest privately-owned property groups in South Africa, with its core business being the investment and development of data centres campuses, commercial, industrial, hospitality and retail properties, both locally and internationally, and is a leading and respected member of the local and international property industry, having assembled and growing a portfolio of institutional-quality assets.

This profound partnership between Minor Hotels and The Cavaleros Group secures the opportunity for Minor Hotels to pioneer their inaugural venture in South Africa, which is recognised as the second largest economy on the continent in terms of GDP and is a country which the hotel group is targeting for future development. Both Minor Hotels & The Cavaleros Group plan to foster a strong relationship, with the intention to partner together on future hospitality opportunities throughout the African continent.

William Heinecke, Chairman and Founder of Minor International, parent company of Minor Hotels, commented, “We are thrilled to sign this strategic partnership with The Cavaleros Group to launch NH and soon NH Collection in South Africa and with it launch our first property in the country. This property will join our growing portfolio of hotels in Africa, where our Anantara, Avani and Elewana brands are already present. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Penny and the Cavaleros team.”

Penny Cavaleros, Chief Executive Officer of The Cavaleros Group, also commented, “The decision to partner with Minor Hotels for our Sandton Hotel and Africa was legendary for The Cavaleros Group. We, as a Group, identified certain asset classes within the property sector which we will aggressively pursue, hospitality being one with exponential growth into the African continent.  Over the past three years we have engaged with all international hotel groups and concluded and recognised that Minor Hotels’ history, speed and culture is synonymous with our core Group values.  We are currently considering several hospitality opportunities across the continent and have commenced our due diligence process.”

Minor Hotels currently operates 27 hotels and resorts in eight countries in Africa, across its Anantara, Avani and Elewana Collection brands, with a further pipeline of future properties.

NH Collection has an existing portfolio of over 90 properties worldwide and can be found in top city locations across Europe and the Americas, with the first properties launched last year in the Middle East, on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, and in the Maldives. The brand will debut later this year in Asia with the opening of NH Collection Chiang Mai in Thailand, with further properties to launch this year including in Finland and Qatar.