Golden Tulip Hotel Leased for 12years; Not Sold

The management of Golden Tulip Hotels, the Ghana Libyan-Arab Holding Company (GLAHCO) says the hotels have not been sold as reported in the media.

It said the hotels have instead been leased to Achour Holdings, operators of Grand Lancaster chain of hotels, for 12 years.

In a statement, the management explained that the previous leasee, Louvre Hotels Group (LHG) of France indicated that it would not renew its agreement with GLAHCO at the end of December 2021, prompting the latter to begin processes to get a new company on board.

“Through this review process the leasing option was selected and in line with general procurement processes, companies were invited to present proposals for lease of the Golden Tulip Hotels. Four companies from four different countries namely Ghana, Tunisia, Nigeria and Lebanon expressed interest and sent their proposals for consideration by the Board.

After several months of deliberation, the Board settled on Achour Holdings, operators of Grand Lancaster chain of hotels, and subsequently secured the signing of a lease agreement with the company on May 18, 2022, pending fulfilment of pre-operating conditions,” the statement said.

Many media reports last week indicated that the Ghana government, which owns 60% stake, and Libya with 40% stake in Golden Tulip Hotels, had sold the hotels to a new investor.

But GLAHCO said, “Golden Tulip Hotels have not been sold, therefore the said allegation/assertion is false.”

It said the lease agreement, commencing July 1, 2022, does not represent a sale of the hotels.

It confirmed that “the conclusion and signing of the lease agreement meant a re-branding of the Golden Tulip Hotels to Lancaster Hotels, effective from the lease start date. Consequently, the names of the hotels were changed to Lancaster Accra and Lancaster Kumasi City.”