Malaysian Ormond has Signed to Open Two Hotels in Melbourne
Main Photo: Flinders Lane Station – Getty Images
Date: March 2019
Location: Mebourne CBD, Victoria, Australia
Name: Ormond Melbourne and MoMo’s Melbourne – opening 2022
No. of Keys: 537
Seller: TBA
Buyer: Southeast Asian hospitality brand Ormond Group will introduce two new hotel concepts to Melbourne’s Central Business District in Victoria, Australia.
ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd, which recently ventured into hospitality following the disposal of its investment banking and securities businesses in 2012, has identified three guest accommodation models that will contribute to its growth.
To be placed under the just launched Ormond Group Sdn Bhd, this wholly-owned unit of ECM Libra will own, operate and/or manage three distinct models that will be the pillars of the hospitality group — Ormond Hotels, Tune Hotels and SubHome.
Ormond Group owns four out of 14 Tune-branded hotels in the market. By the end of 2020, this is expected to grow to 15 hotels with 3,000 rooms, representing a significant part of the expected total group portfolio of 22 hotels and 4,000 rooms under the Ormond and Tune Hotels brands.
Ormond Group CEO Gareth Lim and the Head of Ormond Group Development and Partnerships and CEO of Tune Hotels Mark Lankester share details of the planned hotel venture, its expansion and contribution to the listed entity.
“ECM will be a hospitality group going forward that will acquire, develop and operate hotels … It has diversified into hospitality, which adds to the revenue stream of ECM,” says Lim, who also sits on ECM’s board, adding that the asset management business, although it is competitive, is still the company’s core activity. Lim is also the CEO of Plato Capital Ltd. Lim’s father, Lim Kian Onn, is a controlling shareholder of Plato and ECM.
To date, ECM has acquired Tune Hotel 1Borneo, Kota Kinabalu, Tune Hotel George Town in Penang, and the rights to operate and manage Tune Hotel KLIA Aeropolis for an estimated RM30.93 million via cash and share swap.
It has also bought into TP Hotel (Flinders) Trust, which owns a two-storey building in Melbourne, Australia, and 50% of Tune Hotel klia2. The other half is owned by Plato.
Each hotel is taking residence in their own distinct tower within the CBD development, the Ormond Melbourne and MoMo’s Melbourne on Flinders Lane, will rise from a 40,000 sq. ft. events and F&B podium.
The brand-new development and social gathering space, designed for visitors and locals alike, will boast a purpose-built pedestrian lane-way, multi-use spaces, sky bar & restaurant and provide the cultural capital with 537 new guest rooms between the two properties.
“We are delighted to have been given the green light for Ormond Group to push forward with this exciting and ambitious project. Through our new brands, we hope to be able to elevate the hotel scene in Melbourne through our inclusive approach to programming and design. We’ll be looking to work with exciting F&B operators as well as developing inspiring partnerships to bring these properties to life.
Our spaces are designed to welcome guests and locals alike. Ormond and MoMo’s will offer culturally relevant experiences for guests and locals at great value for money price points in one central location. We are thrilled to be introducing our hotels to this area of the city’s CBD – we embrace its past, present and future and look forward to meaningfully contributing to the district’s landscape.
We feel confident that Melbourne’s already discerning lifestyle audience will enjoy what we bring to Australia’s cultural capital.” says Gareth Lim, CEO of Ormond Group.
Through its approach to delivering authentic travel experiences, the Ormond Group is re-shaping Melbourne’s lifestyle scene with each new hotel. Ormond Hotels is a collection of thoughtfully designed hotels, inspired by local stories and cultural context.
Ormond Melbourne will embody the spirit of Luxury Simplified through the brand’s values of comfort, purpose and balance by prioritizing great service, high quality guest essentials, beautiful and thoughtful design and dynamic social programming.
Meanwhile, MoMo’s Melbourne will provide guests with minimalist hotel rooms alongside playful spaces that engage with creative communities and urban nomads. MoMo’s is designed to inspire memorable moments – through interactive events that engage both locals and visitors alike at a value for money price point.
Together they will provide a dual-brand experience – an upscale boutique hotel that celebrates luxury simplified and an accessible, playful hotel concept that celebrates creative collaboration – bringing a new dynamism to Australia’s hospitality scene.
Designed by Melbourne-based architectural firm, Elenberg Fraser, in collaboration with Craig Tan Architects, the project will be managed by Point Polaris. Ormond Group is currently in the process of making interior design appointments.
Both properties will be developed and operated by Ormond Group, who has announced the appointment of Caroline King as Chief Operating Officer.
This year, Ormond Group will open the first properties for its two new lifestyle hotel brands, with the Q3 launches of The Chow Kit – an Ormond Hotel and MoMo’s in Kuala Lumpur.
In Early 2021 the group will open the flagship hotel under the Ormond Hotels brand in Dublin following the extensive, multi-million-dollar refurbishment of The Ormond Hotel, which will be followed by the brand’s Melbourne opening in 2022. The group will be looking to expand into other Australian cities.
Ormond Group is a new player in global hospitality offering design-led travel experiences for all audiences via its brands – Ormond, MoMo’s and Tune Hotels. Ormond Group embodies the spirit of modern-day exploration whilst focusing on the careful curation of great service, design and programming.
THPT Comment: Interesting development from the company we knew as Tune with budget hotels.
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