Thilan Wijesinghe on Board of Blackstone backed USD 2 Billion Ventive Hospitality

Thilan Wijesinghe on Board of Blackstone backed USD 2 Billion Ventive Hospitality

Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 2025 – Renowned investment banker, entrepreneur, PPP specialist and Chairman & Owner of TWC Holdings, Thilan Wijesinghe, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Ventive Hospitality Limited, which successfully concluded a USD 200 Mn IPO in India, reaching a market capitalisation of over USD 2 billion upon the commencement of trading at the National Stock Exchange of India recently Ventive Hospitality is a joint venture between Blackstone India and Panchshil Realty, and is among the largest real estate developers in India based in Pune.

Ventive is India’s first South Asia-focused listing comprising 13 operating hotels and four [04] office and retail properties in India, three [03] hotels in the Maldives and one [01] international luxury branded resort property in Sri Lanka which is scheduled to commence construction later this year. With 2,036 operating hotel rooms currently in Ventive’s portfolio, the company is now the fourth-largest hotel company in India by market capitalisation. All of Ventive’s ten [10] hotel properties across India, located in Pune, Bangaluru and Varanasi, are managed by international brands such as Ritz Carlton, JW Marriot, Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott and Oakwood. The three [03] hotels in the Maldives are managed by Anantara, Conrad and Atmosphere.

Speaking on the need for Sri Lanka to attract capital into luxury brands, Thilan remarked, “Sri Lanka needs to attract high-end international brands to draw high-spending tourists. Only about 6% of the country’s graded resort hotel rooms are managed by international brands, compared to over 40% in the Maldives.” His expertise in developing iconic properties, such as with the set-up of Dilmah’s leisure management business during its first 5 years and co-creating and launching the award-winning Ceylon Tea Trails provides Thilan the necessary experience to play a crucial role in driving Ventive Hospitality’s regional expansion plans and vision to provide exclusive leisure experiences to the discerning Indian and international travellers.

Thilan further added: “While the initial focus in Sri Lanka will be on a newly built resort, he did not rule out acquisitions of operating hospitality assets that can be internationally branded in Sri Lanka, Maldives and other Indian Ocean destinations. Concluding Thilan stated: “I am also delighted that for the first time, one of India’s iconic real estate companies and the world’s largest private equity firm now have exposure to Sri Lanka”

Thilan is the only non-Indian on the board that comprises Atul Chordia, founder of Panchshil as Chairman, Tuhin Parikh, Senior Managing Director of Blackstone India, Nipun Sahni, former Managing Director of GE Capital India, Bharat Kanna, former Executive Director of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund and Punita Sinha, formerly a Blackstone Managing Director. In addition to Ventive Hospitality, Thilan is also on the boards of all 3 Maldivian hotels and the BOI-approved development company in Sri Lanka, which has already secured a long lease of a unique beach land in Sri Lanka.

Caption:
1. Thilan rings bell at National Stock Exchange Mumbai. (From Left) Asheesh Mohta, Sr. Managing Director – Real Estate India; Tuhin Parikh, Director – Ventive Hospitality and Sr. Managing Director Blackstone; Atul Chordia, Chairman, Ventive Hospitality and Panchshil Realty; Mustafa Hussain, President, Finance and Strategy – Panchshil Realty; Thilan Wijesinghe, Director – Ventive Hospitality/ Chairman – TWC Holdings (Pvt) Ltd; Nipun Sahni, Director – Ventive Hospitality; and Ranjit Batra, CEO – Ventive Hospitality.

Thilan not only holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Summa cum Laude) from the State University of New York, but also a dual Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Economics (both Summa cum Laude) from Cornell University.