Group invests in cafes and hotels Hard Rock brand in Brasi

São Paulo – from restaurants to hotels, the VCI Group (Venture Capital Investments SA) wants to strengthen the Hard Rock brand in Brazil. The company will open a Hard Rock Cafe in the Mall RioMar Fortress in June 2018 and has plans to bring the restaurants to Goiânia and São Paulo. In addition, wants to open three hotels of the brand in the coming years.
The Hard Rock Café in Fortaleza will have around 1,400 square meters, balcony, walk right to 8 meters, area for children, bar, event space and valet service. The total estimated investment is 11 million reais.
The site will have one of the largest collections of objects, instruments and clothes of great artists and musicians among the restaurants of the brand.
There is already a tag in Curitiba, opened in may 2015. However, the enterprise has no relationship to the VCI, as the cafes operating in the franchise model, managed by different franchisees.
Hotels and resorts
In addition to the cafes, the VCI group will invest in hotels of the American brand. The first projects are already defined: in Fortress, which is already under construction with inauguration planned for 2020, in Sun Island, slated for 2020, and Caldas Novas, which will be inaugurated in 2021.
The idea is to develop the Hard Rock brand more widely in Brazil. Therefore, the first hotel is being built near the place where the group will open your first Hard Rock Café, in Fortaleza.
"To reconcile the decoration and the two businesses, hotel and coffee, we inserted the client brand environment," said Samuel Sicchierolli, founder and CEO of VCI.
In Ceara, there will be 170 apartments hotel, 135 apartments and 40 houses. Will be three restaurants, spa, shop, pool bar, sky bar, beach bar and four swimming pools. In Paraná, the differential will be an exclusive pier and rock boats "which are boats transporting guests to the island, surrounded by a river. In Goiás, the main attraction are the six swimming pools with thermal water.
For the three projects already announced, the estimated investment of 300 million us dollars – the value does not include the purchase of the land. "We are also looking for Lawn and Foz do Iguaçu, among other cities," said Sicchierolli.
Unlike the Hard Rock Café, which works through franchise, the hotels of the brand operating through a Marketing Agreement and License Agreement and a management contract for seven projects. This exclusive contract lasts for 28 years, renewable for a further 28.
In addition to the accommodations for guests, the hotels also have a residential area with apartments that can be bought by people who want a holiday home. While the construction of the site is the responsibility of the VCI, the sale of the apartments will be made by Newtimes and real estate sites.
The operation of the hotel, such as the cleaning of common areas, and capable of, restaurants, management system, security, and garbage collection, it is the responsibility of Hard Rock.
Requirements
The project to bring the hotels for the Brazil began 3 1/2 years, says the President of the Fund, but the first unit will be inaugurated only in December 2020. Among the reasons for the delay are the difficulty of finding the proper place and the requirements of the American network.
For being a great resort, the Hard Rock Hotel must be in tourist areas, such as the case of Fortaleza, in northeastern Brazil. The island of the Sun, in Parana, is surrounded by the rio Tibagi and has piers for boats, and Caldas Novas is known for its hot springs resorts.
Brazilian investors seek tourist areas that are not yet saturated, as the case of Rio de Janeiro.
Another reason for the delay in the inauguration of the hotels is in the hands of the American brand. It requires a number of details on construction, such as size of hallways, separate entries for employees and guests and organization to the garbage disposal.
"Many international brands demand certain requirements in their hotels to Brazilian investors are not always willing to follow, since they are spending on the sidelines that will not be perceived by the public," said the President of the investment fund.
The investment fund
VCI Holdings was founded in 2012 by Samuel Sicchierolli and Fabio Neri, to invest in various businesses. The holding company has interests in an engineering company and a dedicated to managing hotels, among others.
Initially, the VCI was a holding company of M&A, IE, a holding company that bought stakes in companies, helped with advice to develop them, and then sell your slice with profit. The VCI has carried out more than 80 transactions to buy or sell.
Three years ago, however, the Fund decided to snap up an even bigger business, the construction of hotels of Hard Rock. To get capital to enterprise size, the Fund asked IPO on CVM in 2016 and, at the end of 2017, filed and registered the company in the CVM as category B. Thus, issued debentures to fund the project.
Their activities were divided into two companies. On one side is the VCI Holdings, which continues investing in several companies. On the other hand, is the VCI Invest, focusing on Hard Rock Hotels.
In addition to restructure the holding company, VCI has invested in projects company and equipment import SBY. Specializing in imports of instruments, the company will help the Fund to bring the instruments that will decorate the walls of Hard Rock Hotels and restaurants, trademark of the American company.