Berggruen Hotels is scaling up its plans for India and proposes to set up 8-10 four-star hotels, adding to the investments it has already announced to develop budget hotels, service apartments and resorts under the Keys brand name.

The upscale hotels will be established over 4-5 years, taking the company’s total investment in India to Rs 2,100 crore. “We launched operations in India in 2007 with budget hotels as this was the ideal segment to enter. We are now finalizing the upscale concept to be launched here, and the model will be replicated in the international markets,” chief marketing officer Partha Chatterjee said.

Berggruen Hotels is backed by New York-based Berggruen Holdings, which manages the personal investments of billionaire hedge fund guru Nicholas Berggruen. The investment will comprise $200 million in equity while the rest will come from borrowings, Mr Chatterjee said.

Construction of seven budget hotels is under way and work at eight more locations will begin this year. Berggruen had announced in 2007 that it was setting up 38 budget hotels in the country at an investment of $100 million.

The first budget hotel will open in January, 2009, in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, while the first four-star property is expected to be operational a year later at Valsao beach in Goa.

Berggruen has roped in leading Japanese architect Shigeru Ban for the four-star hotels. “We expect to have around 4,500 rooms under operation by 2011,” Mr Chatterjee said, forecasting a turnover of Rs 350 crore by then.

Berggruen Holdings’ other investments in India include an equipment rental company, a vocational education provider, a car rental company, real estate development deals and investments in the stock markets.