Actis and Mabani Sign Up First Radisson Blu Hotel In Ghana

Actis and Mabani Holdings are bringing the first Radisson Blu hotel to Ghana. The hotel will be located within The Exchange, a landmark development in the heart of Accra, close to Kotoka International Airport and overlooking the upmarket Airport City Residential Area. This first of its kind, the mixed-use development in Ghana will open in 2017 and incorporate 10,000m2 of world class retail space, 16,000m2 of offices, 100 residential apartments and the Radisson Blu hotel. The Exchange is a development joint venture between Actis and Mabani Holdings. The development will be managed by Laurus Development Partners alongside professional team HOK, Dar al Handasah and Aecom. The joint venture was advised by HTI Consulting, Jones Lang LaSalle hotels and Gibson Dunn and Crutcher. The Radisson Blu Hotel Accra Airport, The Exchange will be a high-end, international hotel with 207 guest rooms, a rooftop swimming pool, a fitness centre and a range of restaurants and bars. It will also hold extensive meeting, conference and banqueting facilities to cater to the needs of the domestic and regional market. The building was designed by award winning architects, HOK and the interiors by Source Interior Brand Architects. The hotel will welcome its first guests in 2017. Amanda Jean-Baptiste, Director of Real Estate at Actis commented �We are delighted to partner with Rezidor in delivering its first Radisson Blu to Ghana. This partnership reflects our collective view that despite the current headwinds Ghana has strong underlying fundamentals and remains an attractive investment destination to long term investors such as ourselves. The Radisson Blu Airport at The Exchange will provide quality modern space for business travellers and will help to further establish Ghana as the conference destination of choice in West Africa. Philip Salem, Director of Mabani Holdings commented, �Our partnership with Actis on The Exchange and now with Rezidor demonstrates the potential for local and international businesses to come together to deliver world class infrastructure and services that will underpin Ghana�s future growth. We are excited to deliver a unique environment unrivalled in its position, and quality of its design which sets a new benchmark for development in Accra�. �Our arrival in Ghana supports our strategic growth in West Africa � a resource rich and fast growing region with considerable potential for our core brand Radisson Blu�, said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO of Rezidor at the African Hotel Investment Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. �We thank the hotel�s owners, Actis and Mabani Holdings, for their trust in us and look forward to jointly delivering this unique project.�