Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts is India’s only pure-play listed luxury hospitality company, operating a portfolio of palaces, hotels, and resorts under a 40-year-old brand rooted in the Indian credo ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ (Guest is God). Founded in 1986 and now backed by institutional sponsor Brookfield, the company has evolved from a legacy owner of five landmark palaces into a multi-dimensional luxury ecosystem spanning owned hotels, managed properties, branded residences, and international expansion. The recurring approach is to own and operate trophy assets in markets where new supply is severely constrained, then layer on capital-light management contracts and brand extensions that monetise the same guest relationships and operational expertise without tying up the company’s own capital. # Business segments A single luxury hospitality engine with four reinforcing layers - owned palaces that generate nearly all the income, a growing managed-hotel business that earns fees on other people’s real estate, an early-stage international beachhead in Dubai, and a new vertical extending the brand into private clubs and branded residences. ## 1. Owned luxury hotels: the economic core built on irreplaceable real estate **Seven wholly-owned palace properties in India’s highest-barrier markets generate over 93% of income, with a pricing premium that runs roughly one-and-a-half times the luxury segment average and occupancy that bounces back quickly after disruptions.** - **Pricing power that peers cannot match** - the company’s revenue per available room (RevPAR) across its five original palaces was ₹17,460 in FY26, carrying a premium of approximately ₹6,000 over the India luxury segment, which means its RevPAR index strengthened to 150. The average daily rate (ADR) reached ₹25,375 at 69% occupancy, and overall ADR rose 13% in the year. - **Rooms are only half the story** - non-room revenue from food and beverage, wellness, and events contributed 52% of total income in FY25, so the company earns from guests even when they are not sleeping in a bed. F&B revenues grew 15% year-on-year in FY26, and non-resident diners now make up 54% of covers at city hotels, up from 51% the year before. - **A guest experience moat measured in numbers** - the company’s Net Promoter Score of 86 is 12 points above the APAC luxury segment average of 74, and 10 points higher than any reported peer, which translates into repeat visits and direct-channel bookings that keep distribution costs low. Over 300 sales associates and nine regional offices control nearly two-thirds of revenue through direct channels. - **Supply is locked out of its best markets** - new luxury supply in the company’s key micro-markets is described as constrained, while luxury demand in India is growing at roughly 11-14% annually against supply growth of only 6-9%, creating a demand-supply gap that supports both occupancy and rate. India has only 23 luxury hotel keys per million people, compared with 177 in China and 973 in Australia. - **Active asset management inside the buildings** - the company refurbished and added seven F&B outlets across its Delhi and Jaipur properties in FY26, relaunched 34,000 square feet of high-end retail in Bengaluru at full occupancy, and converted select Jaipur villas into premium private villas, with these initiatives targeted to deliver a projected yield on cost of approximately 25%. The Delhi property alone is delivering over 20% yield on cost from similar interventions. ## 2. Managed hotels: capital-light fees on other owners’ real estate **Eight managed hotels with over 2,600 keys contribute a small share of income today but let the brand expand into markets without tying up the company’s own balance sheet.** - **Fee income without the bricks** - the company earns management fees under long-term hotel management agreements with third-party property owners, contributing ₹698 million in fees and 10% of consolidated EBITDA in FY25. The performance obligation is purely to provide hotel management services, not to own the underlying real estate. - **Proof that new openings ramp fast** - The Leela Hyderabad, a managed hotel that opened in FY25, achieved 62% occupancy in its first full fiscal year and delivered an ADR 1.24 times its peer set, with positive gross operating profit in year one. That shows the brand can pull demand into a new city from day one. - **Pipeline signed, not just planned** - a management agreement is already signed for The Leela Jaisalmer, an 80-room luxury desert resort on 30 acres near Jaisalmer Fort, slated to open in 2026. Additional managed properties under development include a 140-key resort in Sikkim with a CY28 timeline and a branded residence project in Mumbai with 63 keys and a CY26 timeline. ## 3. International expansion: a Dubai beachhead on Palm Jumeirah **A 25% equity stake in a 546-key luxury beachfront resort on 23 acres marks the company’s first step outside India, in a market where the Leela brand is already well-recognised.** - **A feeder market that is also a destination** - Dubai is both a key source of inbound travellers to India and a destination for existing Leela guests, so the property serves demand flowing in both directions. The brand is described as extremely well-recognised in the Dubai market. - **Scale with a partner’s capital** - the company holds a 25% equity stake in The Leela Palm Jumeirah, a resort with 546 keys and an average room size of 63 square metres, which limits the capital at risk while extending the brand’s global footprint. ## 4. Luxury residences and clubs: brand extensions that monetise loyalty **An invite-only membership club and branded residences in Mumbai take the guest relationship beyond hotel stays into recurring fee income and real-estate branding.** - **Membership fees for access, not rooms** - ARQ BY THE LEELA, launched at the Bengaluru palace, is an ultra-luxury private club with an initiation fee and an annual run-rate fee, offering 10-year or lifetime memberships. The model generates recurring revenue from members who may not stay overnight but use the club’s dining, wellness, and event spaces. - **Branded residences with no construction capital** - a managed residence project in Mumbai, The Leela Waterstone Residences (63 keys), is under development with a CY26 timeline, meaning the company earns branding and management fees while the developer funds the real estate. # Group structure and partners **Brookfield, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers with over US$1 trillion in assets, is the promoter and institutional backbone, holding 75.91% of the company and providing both long-term capital and unique development opportunities.** - **Institutional ownership with aligned interests** - seven DIFC-based promoter entities have created a pledge over 55.91% of the share capital, and Brookfield’s global real estate expertise feeds directly into projects like the BKC Mumbai hotel and the Palm Jumeirah Dubai resort. - **Balance sheet reset by the IPO** - the June 2025 IPO raised ₹35,000 million, used to repay approximately ₹23,000 million of borrowings, bringing net debt to EBITDA down from 3.7x in March 2025 to 1.6x in FY26 and earning a strong AA credit rating.