Rester Hotels plans to make a presence in India

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March 19, 2022

Rester Properties & Resorts, a homegrown hospitality management firm engaged in providing heartfelt moments to guests, team members, and stakeholders, is set to open its hotels in India.

Rakshit Sharma, CEO of Rester Hotels & Resorts, commented, “We are delighted to welcome guests with warm hospitality. We will manage Rester Hotels & Resorts in India under three brands i.e. Rester Resorts, a mid-market leisure brand, Rester Select, a midscale full service hotel brand and Rester Xpress, a hotel brand for on the go traveller.”

Rizwan Sheikh, COO, Rester Hotels & Resorts, further added, “We are excited to announce the opening of our first hotel in Telangana. We look forward to extending the Rester family in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh soon. All our hotels will be ideal places to Rest, Revive and Rejuvenate for business and leisure travellers.”

IWG to open over 1,000 new locations globally in 2022

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March 19, 2022

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Due to increased demand for the hybrid work model in a post-pandemic environment, office rental company IWG announced that it plans to open more than 1,000 new locations globally in 2022, with a special focus on suburban areas.

The decision by the London-listed company comes as office landlords slowly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, with businesses turning to a permanent hybrid model in which employees spend their time between home and office.

“The shift from fixed workspace to flex is now irreversible and the business will continue to accelerate its growth adding a thousand locations in the next year alone,” said Chief Executive Officer Mark Dixon at the international property conference MIPIM.

The firm that owns the Spaces and Regus brands has around 3,500 buildings in more than 120 countries and serves 83% of Fortune 500 companies. IWG, on the other hand, did not give a net increase of its centres for the year, which includes any closures.

Customers of IWG have access to the firm’s extensive network of locations, with a variety of plans to choose from, providing employees with much-needed geographic flexibility.

As office space providers benefit from the hybrid work trend, the Switzerland-based firm announced earlier this month that it would integrate its digital assets with flexible workspace platform The Instant Group.

Zomato in discussions with restaurants, cloud kitchens for 10-minute deliveries

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March 18, 2022

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Five people with direct knowledge of the talks stated that food delivery platform Zomato is in talks with multiple restaurant partners and cloud kitchen companies to launch ultra-fast delivery.

The company is in early conversations with its existing restaurant partners, and the goal is to bring food delivery within 10 minutes.

“Zomato is introducing a sort of a marketplace where they are promising a 10-minute delivery,” said one of the people, who was approached by the company for the experiment. “That is something they will do through their own kitchens or warehouses.”

“We have been approached by them (Zomato) to set up a kitchen alongside them … they are setting up these warehouses and giving ‘co-working’ style cooking stations to these brand owners,” said a senior executive at a cloud kitchen startup.

According to the people, the company is expected to launch a pilot programme in a few cities starting in April, with Gurgaon likely to be the first, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the experiment has not yet begun.

According to an industry insider, Zomato experimented with a 10-15-minute food delivery in four locations in Bengaluru last year, and the current expansion plan is being structured based on those learnings. According to the person, it is working on a plan for quick delivery, with an internal goal of delivering in under 20 minutes, depending on the cuisine and location.

Amazon acquires Hollywood studio MGM for $8.5 billion

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March 17, 2022

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Two days after European regulators said the deal “would not significantly reduce competition” in European markets, Amazon said Thursday that it had completed its acquisition of Hollywood studio MGM.

The $8.5 billion deal was announced in May, making it the retailer’s second-largest acquisition after the $13.7 billion deal with Whole Foods in 2017. The latest acquisition was made to help Amazon compete with Netflix and Disney’s streaming services.

MGM has more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, and awards, according to Amazon, which “will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers.”

Amazon intends to create new movies and shows based on the massive MGM library, including well-known characters such as Rocky, RoboCop, and Pink Panther.

“We are excited for MGM and its bounty of iconic brands, legendary films and television series, and our incredible team and creative partners to join the Prime Video family,” MGM’s Chief Operating Officer Chris Brearton said.

HDFC Capital buys 7.2% stake in realty startup Loyalie

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March 17, 2022

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HDFC Capital Advisors Limited (HCAL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has entered into a share subscription agreement with Loyalie IT-Solutions Private Ltd to acquire 3,90,666 equity shares for ₹1.1 crores. HDFC Capital Advisors Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd and manages real estate private equity investments.

The acquisition will entitle HCAL to about 7.20% of Loyalie’s equity share capital after allotment on a fully diluted basis.

“Investment in Loyalie is proposed to be made by HCAL under its HART initiative programme to invest in technology companies for the benefit of the real estate ecosystem. A binding share subscription agreement in relation to such proposed investment has been entered into by HCAL,” HDFC said in a stock exchanges statement.

The stock is being purchased at a price of ₹28.16 per equity share.

Loyalie is in the business of providing marketing schemes proposed by its clients, loyalty or reward bonuses proposed by its clients, and real estate brokerage services customized to their needs.

Following the deal’s completion, HCAL’s shareholding in Loyalie will be as follows on a fully diluted basis, assuming no new investments, changes to Loyalie’s share capital, or other corporate action in the interim, according to the company.

Loyalie’s turnover increased to ₹2.02 crore in the financial year 2020-21 from ₹1.33 crore the previous year, according to regulatory filings.

The startup works with Godrej Properties, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate, among others, and has a presence in more than 10 cities.

Britannia plans 50% women in the workforce by 2024

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March 17, 2022

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Britannia Industries, a major FMCG company, stated that it aspires to attain a diversity ratio of 50% by 2024 by increasing the number of women in its workforce. Amit Doshi, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Britannia Industries, stated that women presently make up 38% of the company’s workforce.

“We want to promote gender equality in the company,” he said.

He said the proportion of women in the workforce at Britannia’s Guwahati factory is 60% and will be increased to 65%.

According to Doshi, the company has already established a start-up contest among female entrepreneurs to empower women.

He said the company offered Rs 10 lakh in seed capital to 30 women entrepreneurs for start-ups in e-commerce, digital services, ophthalmological care via mobile vans, and child education.

He also mentioned that the company has partnered with Google to provide skill training to women around the country.

Media veteran Vijay Subramaniam starts 29SeptemberWorks

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March 16, 2022

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Vijay Subramaniam, a media and entertainment industry executive, has announced the launch of 29SeptemberWorks, an independent venture that will develop, curate, finance, and produce multi-platform content for the Indian market. The southern Indian region is the focus. The headquarters is based in Bangalore, but it also has offices in Chennai and Kochi.

Over his career, Subramaniam has held executive positions at the Star Network, MTV Networks, Disney India, and Amazon Prime Video.

The new company will be a platform-independent creator-enabler focusing on new and established creators and producers. This will allow them to grow and present their work to a pan-Indian market. On the other hand, Subramaniam is collaborating with top production firms to fill their upcoming slates with compelling and impactful content.

Subramaniam said, “29SeptemberWorks is slated to be a new-age entertainment company that will leverage the best of these two worlds to empower and enable storytellers, especially from the south of India, both in front and behind the camera. This is to take their craft pan-India and to the world.”

He added, “I hope to leverage my experience in building partnerships with progressive minds and entities and coupled with my personal understanding of the diverse Indian market, the ambition is to build a strong, sustainable bridge between creators and customers. And in doing so, expand the canvas of our stories in every respect, creatively and commercially. I am delighted that 29SeptemberWorks has met with such an enthusiastic response in its launch stage itself.”

Fintech SaaS firm Clear buys Xpedize

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March 16, 2022

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Clear (formerly ClearTax), a fintech SaaS company, has acquired supply chain financing provider Xpedize. Although sources estimate the sum to be about Rs 100 crore, the deal’s financial details were not released.

The acquisition is Clear’s second after it acquired B2B payments platform Ybanq earlier this year to assist its aims to penetrate the SME credit and B2B payments space.

By the end of FY22, the Xpedize platform, which will now be known as Clear Invoice Discounting, is estimated to have processed around Rs 1,000 crore in GMV annually. The intelligent AI/ML platform links to ERPs and allows suppliers to choose a discount rate acceptable to both the suppliers and their SME clients.

“Xpedize platform is already running with multiple large enterprises and allows them to pay their suppliers faster. We believe that a separate vertical within Clear will encompass all our technology-enabled financial services and help us quickly scale to serve millions of suppliers,” Archit Gupta, founder and CEO, Clear, said. “This acquisition is important for us as we strive to make supply chain financing programmes with large enterprises successful,” he added.

Clear’s existing 3,000-plus enterprise customers will be able to use the invoice discounting solution. In addition, some banks and TReDS platforms are already connected to the platform. Clear Invoice Discounting will integrate with many more banks and NBFCs in the following quarters to assure a steady supply of credit to a larger number of suppliers.

Regan Mithani and Deepak Gugnani, both ex-Citibank bankers, founded Xpedize, which HDFC Capital and YourNest Venture Capital backed. Xpedize’s 25+ member team will continue to operate the invoice discounting programme while also exploring additional Clear options.

Pride Group of Hotels expands its footprint in Gujarat

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March 16, 2022

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With the signing of two new hotels – Pride Biznotel Gir and Pride Divine Resort Somnath – the Pride Group of Hotels continues its remarkable expansion in Gujarat. Both of these projects are scheduled to open in April 2022. In Manjusar and Alkapuri Vadodara, Pride Hotels has opened the Pride Biznotel.

The hotel group currently has 13 properties across Gujarat, each having a variety of banqueting and dining options. As part of its national expansion plans, Pride Hotels wants to have 50 properties and over 5000 keys in diverse geographic places by the end of 2022. The focus for expansion will be on an asset-light model, with Pride Hotels managing a large portion of the portfolio directly.

Announcing the development, SP Jain, Managing Director, Pride Group of Hotels, said, “We are buoyant on the industrial growth of Gujarat that has fuelled demand for upscale mid-market hotels in this region. We have seen a good inflow of tourists in Gujarat from locals and also neighboring states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Religious tourism has seen an uptick as people from India and across the world visit various pilgrim destinations in Gujarat. Pride Hotels, with its strategic location, delectable food options, banqueting, and host of hospitality services will appeal to business and leisure travellers in Gujarat”.

In the coming months, the hotel chain will expand into Surendranagar, Baruch, and Aatapi as part of its expansion plans. The Pride Resort in Aatapi is a theme park and resort located halfway between Vadodara and Kewadia (famous for the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest monument).

HR-tech startup inFeedo bags $12mn in a Series A funding

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March 15, 2022

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inFeedo, an employee experience platform, has raised $12 million in Series A funding. Jungle Ventures and Tiger Global led the round, including existing investors such as Bling Capital.

Bhavin Turakhia (Founder Zeta), Sreedhar Peddineni (Co-founder Gainsight), Suman Gopalan (CHRO Freshworks), and Ankur Warikoo were among the new investors in this round.

John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global, said, “We are excited to partner with Tanmaya and the inFeedo team. We believe they will be a leader in the employee listening market.”

Arpit Beri, Principal at Jungle Ventures, added, “The relationship between employees and companies is changing radically, forcing leaders to rethink their approach to their most precious resource: talent. The kind of encouraging on-ground feedback we received from all stakeholders, be it the customers, the competitors, or even the ex-employees, makes us extremely excited to partner with inFeedo, as they set out to redefine employee engagement for global enterprises.”

With the latest funding, inFeedo’s total funding has raised $16 million since its inception. As a result, it plans to triple its product range, quadruple revenue, double its team and accelerate growth in Southeast Asia, India, and the United States in the next few years.

inFeedo, headquartered in the United States, was founded in 2016 by Tanmaya Jain and Varun Puri as an all-in-one employee experience platform with people analytics that helps forecast attrition, burnout, and disengagement in top talent. Amber, their proprietary A.I. bot, serves as the CEO’s Chief Listening Officer, having intelligent discussions with employees in real-time to uncover hidden gaps in their culture, managers, and wellbeing.

Commenting on the announcement, Tanmaya Jain, Founder and CEO of inFeedo, said, “There’s never been a more critical time to put people at the heart of your business. This milestone isn’t about our series A, it’s about our A game. It’s about surrounding ourselves with A players who share a vision of helping companies build a culture where people love to come to work. It’s about conversational A.I. and people science teams coming together to build meaningful employee experiences. With both Tiger and Jungle now behind us, it’s finally time for inFeedo to roar.”

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