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Our Bureau

Chennai, June 16 The promoters of leisure infrastructure company Country Club India Ltd have floated a new venture, Country Vivah, targeting the Indian wedding market.

According to Mr Y. Rejeev Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Country Club group, Country Vivah will be a one-stop destination for weddings.

He says that going by an independent study, the size of the Indian wedding market is Rs 50,000 crore (excluding jewellery).

“We aim to take away the planning and execution stress that a typical Indian wedding entails. Now, our clients can leave everything to us and enjoy the wedding.”

Mr Reddy said the group would leverage its expertise in the hospitality industry for the new venture.

“There would be a lot of cross synergies between the two companies, as besides the industry expertise, Country Club has 54 own resorts and over 170 franchised properties across the country,” he said. Country Vivah plans to acquire wedding halls and small convention centres across States to conduct weddings.

The company proposes to include honeymoon travel services, too, as part of the wedding package.

Mr Reddy said Country Vivah would entail an investment of close to Rs 1,000 crore, possibly funded by debt or equity raised abroad.

“Country Club too, would have an equity exposure in the new venture.”

Country Club India, a debt-free company, last year raised Rs 486 crore through GDR/QIP.

Fidelity Investment, Goldman Sachs and New Vernon picked up 9.88, 6.59 and 4.94 per cent stakes, respectively.

As of now, FID Funds (Mauritius) holds 9.88 per cent, Goldman Sachs Investments 3.29 per cent and Citigroup Global Markets 2.42 per cent and JM Financial Mutual holds 2.26 per cent equity stakes in the company.

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