BHG maintains growth strategy and announces a new hotel in Belo Horizonte

SAO PAULO, Dec. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group (BM&FBovespa: BHGR3; OTC: BZHGY) , the only company from the hotel sector listed on the BM&FBovespa's Novo Mercado segment, announces that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Bless Business, Ponte Participacoes Ltda., Crevalcore Participacoes Ltda. and Guastala Participacoes Ltda. to develop a new Tulip Inn hotel in Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais, which will be built by the Prisbel construction company. This operation is aligned with the Company's growth strategy, which includes the development of new hotels in large urban centers.

Located near the Administrative City of Minas Gerais, the future "Tulip Inn Linha Verde" hotel will be established in the Northern Vector, in the vicinity of the Venda Nova district, which is continuously growing due to heavy public and private investments. The area includes Linha Verde, a highway connecting downtown to the Confins Airport that has significantly improved traffic in Belo Horizonte. The Administrative City, designed by renowned architect Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated in 2010, has high potential for increasing demand for hotels.

The new hotel's project envisages 120 to 140 rooms, restaurant infrastructure, conference rooms and leisure area. Scheduled to begin its operation in 2016, the hotel will be the first in the region.

With approximately 5,000 established companies, Venda Nova has consolidated its position as a business and service center, owing to the construction of malls, hospitals and clinics. The region also includes other important commercial developments, such as Shopping Estacao, the first big shopping center in the north region of Belo Horizonte; and Alphaville Vetor Norte, a residential condominium with 542 lots and around 2,710 residents. The civil works of Cristo Rei Catedral – designed by Niemeyer and other Linha Verde's highlight – have already begun, with total estimated cost of R$100 million.

"The strategic location of this hotel will be extremely important to our portfolio, being also complementary to other BHG's assets under development in the city, thus reinforcing our strategy of market consolidation in the short and medium term," said Eduardo Bartolomeo, CEO of BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group.

With this announcement, BHG has strengthened its presence in the state of Minas Gerais, with 6 hotels in its portfolio, totaling 1,231 rooms.[i]

Who we are:

BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group,  the country's third largest hotel chain, became the first Brazilian company to operate in real estate segment specialized in hotels, focusing on business tourism,  with its own and administered hotels in the 2, 3, 4 and 5-star categories.

The exclusive contract with the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group in South America allows it to use the Royal Tulip (5-star), Golden Tulip (4-star) and Tulip Inn (3-star) brands.  BHG also has the Soft Inn brand, used for limited-service 2-star hotels, which offer an attractive cost-benefit ratio for business tourism.

BHG Companhia has 9,125 rooms[ii] in operation, distributed through 48 hotels, 16 of which wholly-owned by the Company, 25 owned by third parties, seven partially owned and three in which the Company holds a minority interest. Considering all the hotels under development with Memoranda of Understanding and the hotels being developed by FIP, the Company will have a total of approximately 13,612 rooms by the end of 2016, distributed through 71 hotels, 17 of which wholly owned (3,178 rooms), 41 owned by third parties (9,468 rooms), 13 partially owned (966 rooms), and three hotels in which the Company holds a minority interest.

BHG is a publicly held company, with shares listed on the BM&FBovespa's Novo Mercado segment, under the ticker BHGR3, and with an ADR Level I Program for trading shares on the OTC market in New York, under the ticker BZHGY.

Media Relations
BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group
Fernanda Pannunzio
[email protected] 
11.3577.2302 / 11.99668.7249
www.bhg.net

[i] One hotel is operational—Tulip Inn Uberlandia, with 125 rooms—and 5 hotels are currently under development: Soft Inn Belo Horizonte (170 rooms), Golden Tulip Belo Horizonte (408 rooms), Tulip Inn Savassi (Belo Horizonte - 240 rooms), Tulip In Linha Verde (Belo Horizonte – 120 rooms) and Tulip Inn Sete Lagoas (168 rooms).

[ii] Includes the 388 rooms of Rio Palace Hotel which await court ruling.

SOURCE BHG S.A. - Brazil Hospitality Group