GGRAsia – Louis XIII to start building superstructure of casino project

Louis XIII to start building superstructure of casino project

Jul 29, 2014 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Louis XIII Holdings Ltd says it has received approval from the Macau government for its building plans for a boutique casino hotel on the Cotai-Coloane border. It began preparation works on the building superstructure of the Louis XIII project (pictured in a rendering) in June, the company said in its annual report filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The foundation works “are now nearing completion”, it added.

Louis XIII will offer approximately 171 duplex suites, with an average size of 2,000 square feet (186 sq metres), and 29 villas, including a “royal villa” of over 20,000 square feet, the company said.

The complex will house a by-invitation-only “Atelier”, where clients “will have the opportunity to view and purchase in complete privacy couture, bespoke and limited-edition products” from some of the most prestigious luxury brands, it said in the report.

The property, scheduled to open in mid-2016, will also include a 38-seat L’Ambroisie restaurant. L’Ambroisie in Paris has held three Michelin stars since 1988.

Louis XIII Holdings significantly narrowed its losses for the year to March 31. The loss attributable to owners of the company was reduced to HKD51 million (US$6.6 million) – an improvement of 387 percent over the prior period.

In April 2014, the company entered into a loan facility of up to HKD3.05 billion with a mainland Chinese bank. Together with the HKD3.2 billion gross raised in its initial sale of shares in February 2013, the company said it believes it will have “sufficient funding” to complete the hotel project in Macau.

The company spent about HKD736 million in the project in the year ended March 31, 2014.

In a separate filing on Tuesday, the company again proposed to grant to the directors a new mandate authorising them to allot and issue shares not exceeding 20 percent and to repurchase shares not exceeding 10 percent of the issued capital. There were 449,596,510 shares in issue.