Press Release

VIS reaffirms facility rating of Avari Hotels (Pvt.) Limited

Karachi, June 9, 2021: VIS Credit Rating Company Ltd. (VIS) has reaffirmed the rating assigned to the facilities mobilized by Avari Hotels (Pvt.) Limited (AHL) amounting to Rs. 4.3b (Rs. 2b of Islamic Musharaka and Rs. 2.3b of conventional financing) at ‘AA’ (Double A). The assigned rating signifies high credit quality with strong protection factors. Risk is considered moderate but may vary slightly from time to time because of economic conditions. Outlook on the assigned rating is ‘Stable’.

These facilities have been acquired from two banks, Meezan Bank Limited (Rs. 2b) and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Limited (Rs. 2.3b). The facilities were disbursed in October 2019. Tenor of each facility is 8 years. Proceeds from the facility are being partly utilized for expanding the properties, while the remaining proportion was used for retiring other debt on the books. The assigned ratings draw comfort from the payment structure of the facility. Although this loan is present on the books of AHL, it is being completely serviced by one of AHL’s largest existing tenant, Unilever Pakistan Limited (Unilever), one of the largest FMCG operating in Pakistan for a number of decades. Unilever’s parent company, Unilever PLC, carries an international long term rating of ‘A+’ by Standard & Poor’s. Unilever has been a tenant of AHL for more than 35 years. The facility, agreed upon by AHL and Unilever, is structured as an advance discounting of the lease rental agreement for nine years. The security structure is tripartite [lenders, AHL and Unilever] with Unilever giving an undertaking to pay principal and markup payment against rent payable in lieu of advance rent they would have ordinarily paid. Hence, the current rating of the facility depends upon financial strength of Unilever and the lease agreement between AHL and Unilever; any changes in the financial profile of the lessee would have an impact on rating. The facility is additionally secured by a charge on assets of AHL and personal guarantee of sponsors.

As the hospitality sector was one of the most impacted sectors due to the disruption caused by COVID-19, AHL’s revenues and profitability also decreased on account of the decrease in the occupancy rates during the period under review. Increase in vaccination rate in the country remains a key factor which will support the recovery of the hospitality sector.

For further information on this rating announcement, please contact Mr. Narendar Shankar Lal (Ext: 203) or the undersigned (Ext: 306) at (021) 35311861-66 or email at info@vis.com.pk.



Faryal Ahmad Faheem
Deputy CEO

Applicable Rating Criteria: Industrial Corporates (May 2019)
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/backupsqlvis/docs/Corporate-Methodology-201904.pdf

Information herein was obtained from sources believed to be accurate and reliable; however, VIS Credit Rating Company Limited (VIS) does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.VIS , the analysts involved in the rating process and members of its rating committee do not have any conflict of interest relating to the rating(s)/ranking(s) mentioned in this report.VIS is paid a fee for most rating assignments. This rating/ranking is an opinion and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Copyright 2021 VIS Credit Rating Company Limited . All rights reserved. Contents may be used by news media with credit to VIS .