SAO PAULO, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group (BM&FBovespa: BHGR3; OTC: BZHGY ) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development of a hotel project in the city of Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte state. This project, its second in Natal after the Golden Tulip Interatlantico, consolidates its presence in the Northeast region, where it now has nine hotels for business and leisure tourism.

In economic terms, the state of Rio Grande do Norte is distinguished for its strong and highly diversified service and retail sector. Tourism in Natal makes the second highest contribution to the GDP of the state, which receives more than two million visitors per year from elsewhere in Brazil and abroad. It will also be one of the cities hosting the 2014 World Cup, with investments through the Growth Acceleration Plan (PAC) of R$23 billion by 2014 and another R$18 billion subsequently.

"For these and other reasons, we are certain that Natal is the perfect scenario for the start-up of another Golden Tulip hotel," declared Pieter J. F. van Voorst Vader, CEO of BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group.

The Golden Tulip Natal will have 168 rooms, a restaurant and a convention space, and will be geared to both business travelers and leisure tourists. The hotel will be part of a masterplan with a tower containing 120 service flats exclusively managed by BHG located on one of the main avenues of the Ponta Negra region, approximately 18 km from the airport and generating strong synergies with the Golden Tulip Interatlantico which is located in downtown Natal.

The Project developed by Hazbun is at an advanced stage of construction and opening is expected either in the last quarter of 2013 or in the first quarter of 2014. BHG will be a minority partner in the project, and will be responsible for the investing in and installing of furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E), as well as hotel equipment and operating supplies (HEO).

The Company now has ten greenfield projects, totaling 1,958 rooms in all (it will no longer develop the Maringa and Palmas hotels, announced previously). As a result, including the greenfield projects and the management agreements signed, BHG will as of today have a total of 70 own and managed hotels with around 12,910 rooms by the close of 2015.

(i) Greenfield projects announced: Golden Tulip Belo Horizonte - MG (386 rooms), Tulip Inn Sobral - CE (120 rooms), Tulip Inn Campo Grande – MS (140 rooms), Tulip Inn Savassi – Belo Horizonte - MG (240 rooms), Tulip Inn Itaguai (FIP) – RJ (200 rooms), Tulip Inn Campos (FIP) - RJ (160 rooms), Tulip Inn Angra dos Reis – RJ (120 rooms), Tulip Inn Itaborai (FIP) - RJ (256 rooms) and Tulip Inn Sete Lagoas (FIP) – MG (168 rooms).

Who we are:

BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group, the country's third largest hotel chain, is the first Brazilian company to operate in the real estate segment specializing in business tourism hotels, with owned and managed hotels in the 3-, 4- and 5-star categories. The Company currently has 48 hotels, with 8,539 rooms in operation.

The exclusive contract with the Golden Tulip Hospitality Group in South America allows it to use the Royal Tulip (5-star), Golden Tulip (4-star) and Tulip Inn (3-star) brands. BHG also has the Soft Inn brand, used for limited-service 2-star hotels, which offer an attractive cost-benefit ratio for business tourism.

BHG is a publicly-held company with shares traded on the Novo Mercado segment of the BM&FBOVESPA's under the ticker BHGR3, and a Level I AD program for trading its shares on the over-the-counter (OTC) market in New York, United States, under the ticker BZHGY. In September 2012, BHG announced the beginning of a FIP - Private Equity Fund, with the purpose of investing in the development of greenfield real estate projects in the domestic hotel sector, in the midscale category. The development of greenfield hotels will be one of the key growth drivers for BHG in the coming years.

Media Relations
BHG S.A. – Brazil Hospitality Group
Fernanda Pannunzio
fpannunzio@bhg.net
11.997821528
www.bhg.net

SOURCE BHG S.A. - Brazil Hospitality Group