South African hotel and casino giant Tsogo Sun has new projects lined up in South Africa including a new Cape Town casino, World Casino Directory reported.
South Africa’s economy is expected to grow at its slowest rate since 2009, but nobody told Tsogo Sun, which saw gaming wins increase by 6 percent and hotel revenue grow by 9 percent through March.
The firm said it generates nearly 90 percent of its hotel and casino revenue from the South African market. It also has hotels in Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia.
In addition to a new Cape Town casino, the company seeks regulatory approval to control a Johannesburg-listed Hospitality Property Fund, according to Marcel Von Aulock, CEO of Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd.
Tsogo Sun has 14 casinos and over 90 hotels in South Africa, Africa, the Seychelles and Middle East. Its flagship Montecasino centers provide gaming, recreation, dining and entertainment. Other casinos include Gold Reef City, Suncoast Casino, and Silverstar Casino.
The company has almost completed work upgrading and expanding existing casinos, and says it’s is now waiting for the economy to catch up and boost casino revenue.
Tsogo Sun gets 65 percent of its revenue from gaming and around 30 percent from its hotel business. With upgrades completed on Gold Reef and Montecasino, Tsogo Sun Holdings plans to invest an additional $139 million to expand its Suncoast gaming and entertainment complex in Durban
The company’s shares have increased by 18 percent this year and by 4.7 percent on the FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index, which has given the company a market value of $2.1 billion US, Bloomberg reported.
Tsogo Sun says it’s sticking to its thriving, core domestic market, at least for now. The company has nixed plans to add casinos outside of South Africa, according to CalvinAyre.com.
Sun International, chief competitor for Tsogo, operates hotels in other African countries and has followed a different expansion strategy by focusing on international markets.
Tsogo Sun has been reluctant to launch in new countries due to uncertainty in gaming legislation, market conditions and unfamiliar regulatory procedures.
“We just haven’t seen any reason for it,” Von Aulock told a news outlet. “Maybe one day when we completely run out of things to do in South Africa.”
Casino developer Emfuleni Resorts has will not be building a mixed-use development in Port Elizabeth after the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board decided not to extend the casino license of the Boardwalk Precinct, where the casino development was planned.
The development would have been the largest single investment in tourism and hospitality in the city with a price tag of $88.35 million US.
.
