Imperativ Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, which runs a budget hospitality chain under the Bloom Hotels brand, has topped up its Series B round of funding with an additional Rs 100 crore ($14.3 million) from private investment firm Samena Capital.
The company said in a statement on Wednesday it will use the additional capital to complete the first stage of its growth strategy. Bloom aims to sign 100 hotels over the next 18 to 24 months in the first phase of its growth plan.
“We have decided to increase our investment commitment in Bloom within a short period of time in view of the quick brand rollout that is underway, combined with effective execution by the management team,” said Shirish Saraf, founder and vice chairman of Samena Capital.
Bloom Hotels is planning to set up hotels in all cities outside the metros, it said, adding that this will help it reach its initial target of 100 hotels.
Its new hotels under development are in Aurangabad, Varanasi, Lucknow, Vijayawada and Amritsar, among various other cities.
“Our pace of growth has picked up significantly after Samena’s initial investment," said Sanjeev Sethi, chief operating officer at Bloom. "We are energized by their follow-on investment, which will help boost the growth trajectory and help us get to the targets ahead of schedule."
Bloom is also backed by CX Partners. The homegrown private equity firm had put in around Rs 47.5 crore for a 45% stake in 2011.
Samena Capital is a principal investment group focusing on investments in Asia and North Africa. The firm has raised more than $1.5 billion of capital since 2008 and has returned $675 million to investors from more than 45 full and partial exits.
Samena Capital manages about $1 billion across two primary investment strategies: private equity and credit. Its investments in India include Ballarpur Industries, Dynamatic Technologies and Mahindra Two Wheelers.
