BACKGROUND EXPERIENCE

The Raffles International Story (case study)
Dr Helfer in his capacities as Founding Chairman / CEO of Raffles International Hotels and Resorts, President and CEO of Raffles Holdings Ltd and Chairman of Raffles Hotel, Singapore and his team of industry professionals::

Raffles International Hotels and Resorts, Singapore

  • Spearheading over a period of 14 years the creation of Raffles International Hotels and Resorts as a world-class hotel management company, including all of the conceptualization, master planning, restoration/redevelopment, technical services, strategic planning, sales and brand marketing, quality assurance, financial services, training/HR development, food and beverage operations, retail conceptualization and merchandising, and hotel operations and facilities management
  • Redeveloping Raffles Hotel into a vibrant six star international hotel with the addition of world class amenities. Creating a lifestyle haven of unique concepts within the confines of the Hotel, each conceived as destinations in themselves, which completely redefined the ‘Raffles Hotel Experience’
  • Development of trend-setting food and beverage concepts for Raffles International including; Doc Cheng’s,operating in Singapore, Hamburg and Bangkok with branches developed for Mallorca and Bali. JAAN, a concept of modern French cooking with Khmer accents operating with high accolades in Beverly Hills, Singapore, Montreux and London. In total the number of food and beverage facilities in the group exceeded 160 outlets, all bottom-line profitable
  • Successfully building the Raffles International brand worldwide and extending the master brand to encompass internationally recognized private label retail products, health, spa and wellness facilities, food and beverage outlets and world-class events/travel experiences
  • Creation of Amrita Spa, Fitness and Wellness Centres with complete fitness, health, relaxation and wellness facilities and private-label spa products. At the end of 2002, 17 Amrita facilities were in operation or under development in Raffles and Swissôtel hotels throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, with a projected increase to 22 facilities in 2003/2004. In 2002 Amrita was recognized as the largest ‘in hotel’ spa operator in Asia.

Read in detail accomplishments at Raffles International Hotels and Resorts ( PDF, 2.11 Mb )

( Case study includes food and beverage concepts, spa/wellness concepts, retail and mixed used development concepts, event management etc)

In July of 2005 Raffles Holdings Limited sold its hotel management company Raffles International Limited and the owned stakes in hotel properties, to a consortium headed by Colony Capital LLC, for an enterprise value of S$1.7 billion dollars. This was at a reported EV/EBITDA ratio of 19.2 times. With the exception of recently announced management contracts, all of the foundations and value were created during the period that Dr Helfer was spearheading the companies.