India Hospitality Corp. Announces New CEO and COO

India Hospitality Corp. Announces New CEO and COO Company Makes Warranty Claims LONDON, Dec. 24 -- India Hospitality Corp. (LSE: IHC or India Hospitality or the "Company") announced today that its Board of Directors has appointed Ravi Deol as the Company's new Chief Executive Officer and Mr. Sandeep Vyas as the new Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Deol will replace Richard Foyston, formerly IHC's interim CEO. In addition, Raghavendra Agarwal, previously Senior Vice President of Finance for Mars Restaurants Private Limited, has been promoted to Corporate Financial Controller for IHC, and Tim McKinlay is no longer the Company's interim Chief Financial Officer. India Hospitality believes that the current managerial restructuring provides a long-term management solution for the Company. The composition of IHC's Board, including Mr. Foyston as Vice Chairman, remains unchanged. Mr. Deol has received a mandate from IHC's Board of Directors, as the Company's new CEO, to lead its efforts of sourcing and reinforcing its capital structure in order to continue to fund the Company's growth initiatives and ongoing operations. "Despite the challenges in this current economic environment, we believe that India is and will remain a global hub for hospitality and consumer activity in the years to come," said Mr. Deol. About Ravi Deol and Sandeep Vyas Ravi Deol, a well-known entrepreneur, has pioneered several consumer ventures, including founding Barista, India's first indigenous coffee retail chain, which revolutionized lifestyle-driven high street consumption. He was the architect and CEO of the Bharti Wal-Mart joint venture, which marked Bharti's entry into the retail sector. Sandeep Vyas was the co-founder and executive vice-president of Barista Coffee and has held several leadership positions in the consumer and hospitality industries. Recently, as the director of worldwide operations for Yum! Brands International's Pizza Hut, he led the global repositioning of the Pizza Hut dine-in brand. Previously, as the head of operations for Yum! Brands' strategic business unit in India, Mr. Vyas led the re-entry of Yum! Brands' KFC business in that market. Warranty Claims In July 2007, the Company acquired Mars Restaurants Private Limited and SkyGourmet Private Limited from affiliates of Navis Capital Partners and certain private shareholders (the "Sellers") pursuant to a share purchase agreement that contained certain representations, warranties and covenants given by the Sellers. On December 22, 2008, the Company initiated a claim for indemnification against the Sellers relating to certain alleged misrepresentations and breaches of warranties of the Sellers contained in the share purchase agreement and the alleged failure of the Sellers to perform certain covenants or agreements contained therein. In connection with its claim, the Company has made a claim against an escrow account established at the time of the completion of the sale containing approximately US$10.0 million to at least partly satisfy the amounts claimed, which the Company believes in the aggregate are in excess of US$15.0 million. A further update on the claim will be provided in due course. About India Hospitality Corp. India Hospitality Corp. (IHC) is a diversified pan-Indian hospitality and leisure company. In July 2007, IHC closed on the acquisition from Navis Capital Partners and its Affiliates of India-based Mars Restaurants Private Limited, an emerging hotel and restaurant company, and SkyGourmet Catering Private Limited, an airline catering company with 1,700 employees operating out of four locations in India. Deutsche Bank AG is IHC's nominated adviser and broker for the purposes of the AIM Rules for Companies. Its responsibilities as IHC's nominated adviser and broker under the AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers are owed solely to London Stock Exchange plc and not to IHC, any director of IHC or any other person. Source: India Hospitality Corp. CONTACT: Media: Harsh Wardhan, Mutual Image & Events Management Pvt. Ltd., +91-11-43620700; Investor Relations: William Schmitt, ICR Inc., +1-203-682-8200; Nominated Adviser and Broker: Mumtaz Naseem, Deutsche Bank, +44-20-7545-8000
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