Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of The Indian Hotels Company, has signed a management mandate with Suresh Nanda, chairman of Claridges Hotels Pvt, for his hotel in New Delhi, the first link in a new luxury brand.

Negotiations were undoubtedly facilitated by the fact that Suresh Nanda, a wealthy Indian businessman, already owns the Vivanta Surajkund, now part of the IHCL portfolio, and is the developer and owner of the Taj Hotel Dubai.

Since 2003, he has also owned the Claridges Hotel in New Delhi and the Nahba Palace in Mussoorie.

This partnership seals the launch of the ‘Claridges Collection’ brand, which operates in the luxury ‘boutique hotel’ segment, which is still relatively undeveloped in India. In addition to the Claridges in New Delhi, IHCL will be adding the Taj Connemara in Chennai, followed by the Blue Diamond in Pune, which is currently under construction.

At the signing of the contract, Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of IHCL, announced his intention to create a new luxury chain of at least 20 establishments as part of his ‘Accelerate 2030’ plan.

It will be complementary, with the same high standards as the iconic Taj Palaces hotels and Taj Safaris resorts.

Thanks to the commitment of its new partner, it hopes to attract other independent owners of Indian ‘nuggets’ who want to draw on the commercial strength of a ‘Collection’ and benefit from the management expertise of The Indian Hotels Company.