이 기사는 2019년 11월 12일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

Eland Park, the hotel and leisure arm of South Korea's mid-size conglomerate Eland Group, plans to expand its business internationally after years of restructuring.

Eland Group has set up a new company called Kensington Korea, according to industry sources last Wednesday. Micronesia Resort, an overseas subsidiary of Eland Park, holds a 100 percent stake in the newly formed company.

Eland Park, known for its Kensington hotels and resorts brand as well as Corea Condo in Jeju Island, has a total of 18 hotels and resorts nationwide and four resorts abroad.

Eland Park explained the purpose of setting up Kensington Korea is to strengthen its overseas hotels and resorts business. So far Eland Park has focused on running domestic hotels and resorts, while overseas hotels and resorts - Kensington Hotel Saipan, Pacific Islands Club, Coral Ocean Point and Sheraton Guilin Hotel - have been managed by Micronesia Resort.

However, going forward, Kensington Hotel Saipan will be managed by the newly launched company, which is expected to concentrate its efforts on fostering Kensington hotels and resorts business. The timing is also apt, as years of the conglomerate's restructuring have been completed.

Many industry experts reckon that, through such a move, Eland Group aims to build Kensington's brand power. Kensington hotels and resorts have long been criticized for an ambiguous brand identity. Eland expanded its hotels and resorts business by taking advantage of targeting properties deemed to have low business value, but has not invested enough to add value, which, consequently, made Kensington's brand identity less cohesive.

In fact, the conglomerate's hands were tied due to financial trouble. Over the last few years, Eland Group has run a hard restructuring, and so has Eland Park, focusing on strengthening its financial position rather than business expansion. Eland Group also sold some of its hotels and resorts, including Kensington Jeju Hotel and its site acquired by B&M Development, a subsidiary of real estate developer SK D&D, last year.

"Eland Park and Kensington Korea will run Kensington hotels and resorts at home and abroad, respectively. The new company has just been set up, so any detailed plan is not available yet," said an Eland Park spokesperson.

(By reporter Chung Mi-hyung)