Mumbai-based Shree Naman Group, which owns the luxury Sofitel Mumbai BKC and midscale Ibis Mumbai BKC hotels, has won bids for a JW Marriott hotel in Bengaluru and a Crowne Plaza hotel in Pune, with an enterprise value of around ₹1,800 crore, three people familiar with the deals said.
The real estate developer was selected as the successful bidder for the two Advantage Raheja Group properties following a six-month bidding process under the insolvency resolution mechanism, the people said on condition of anonymity.
“The group has submitted the required performance guarantees of about ₹160 crore and ₹20 crore, respectively, in the form of bank guarantees,” said one of the people cited above.
The JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru is owned by Gstaad Hotels Pvt. Ltd, while Crowne Plaza is owned by Neo Capricorn Plaza, both part of the Advantage Raheja Group. Creditors took two companies to the insolvency court for defaulting on debt payments. The National Company Law Tribunal admitted both cases in July 2025. The process attracted 45 expressions of interest (EoIs) in October 2025 and eventually drew 11-12 resolution plans, the people said.
Shree Naman Group declined to comment. Mint's queries emailed to Advantage Raheja Group remained unanswered.
Full ownership
The group intends to retain full ownership of the two hotels even though the resolution plan allows the successful bidder to hold just 51% of the equity, the people said.
Between the two assets, about ₹1,611 crore is allocated to the JW Marriott hotel and the rest for the Crowne Plaza hotel, the second person said.
“The resolution plan is now subject to proceedings before the courts, and the transaction could take anything from one month to several months to conclude,” the person added.
The former promoters of the hotels have challenged the insolvency proceedings, with the JW Marriott case pending before the Supreme Court and the Crowne Plaza case awaiting an order at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Apart from Sofitel in Mumbai’s BKC, Shree Naman Group also owns a Lemon Tree Hotel at Kalina BKC and an upcoming hotel in Goa. The acquisitions will significantly expand the portfolio, adding two operating hotels in key business markets once the necessary clearances come through. It also has multiple residential projects in Mumbai, including Naman Residency in BKC, Naman Habitat in Andheri, and Naman Xana in Worli.
The acquisitions come as investors and hotel companies have shown greater interest in operating hospitality assets in India's major markets, where a combination of improving room rates, occupancy and demand has strengthened the economics of hotel ownership.
The strategy is similar to that adopted by other listed hotel owners such as Chalet Hotels and Juniper Hotels, which have built portfolios around operating hospitality assets in major Indian markets.
In June, Juniper Hotels entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of Juniper Hospitality Assets Pvt. Ltd (JHAPL), a special-purpose vehicle to build its new five-star hotel on a 2.5-acre land parcel in Delhi's Dwarka. Chalet Hotels bought Inder Residency in Udaipur, India's highest-average-room-rate market, for ₹171 crore in April.
Shree Naman Group declined to comment. Mint's queries emailed to Advantage Raheja Group remained unanswered.
Legal snag
The JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru, owned by Advantage Raheja Group’s Gstaad Hotels Pvt. Ltd, was admitted to the corporate insolvency resolution process in July 2025 after Omkara Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd filed a petition before the NCLT over a ₹665.74 crore default.
The debt was originally extended by Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Ltd and was assigned to Omkara in December 2022.
The admission was challenged before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which upheld the NCLT’s decision in August 2025. Former Gstaad Hotels director Deepak Raheja has since approached the Supreme Court against the NCLAT order.
Among other grounds, his petition questioned Omkara’s standing to initiate the insolvency proceedings after taking over the loan and disputed the quantum of debt claimed by the asset reconstruction company.
The resolution process has proceeded despite the legal challenge. The case pending in the Supreme Court does not by itself stop the insolvency process, although any order from the court could affect its completion.
The property, located on Vittal Mallya Road, attracted strong interest from prospective buyers during the resolution process. Its location and established operations made it a sought-after asset among investors looking to acquire operating hotels in a major metropolitan market.
“Bengaluru is a very good location, and the hotel is currently being run by resolution professionals and is operationally profitable,” the third person added.
The Crowne Plaza, also owned by Advantage Raheja Group-promoted Neo Capricorn Plaza Pvt. Ltd, adds an operating hotel in another major corporate and commercial market.