Tsogo Sun slows spending to counter mounting debts

South Africa’s biggest hotel and casino operator, Tsogo Sun Holdings Ltd. (TSH), has seen its business boom. Unfortunately, it has seen its debt boom, as well. TSH has announced that it will put the brakes on acquisitions and business expansion as it attempts to corral its debt.

In an interview with Bloomberg, TSH CEO Jacques Booysen confirmed the hotel and casino operator has been looking at opportunities, “but obviously we’re mindful of the fact that our debt levels are higher than they used to be. We are not just out there to buy anything that comes up for sale.”

Putting the brakes on investments doesn’t mean that TSH plans to halt expansion completely. It still intends to launch its Garden Court in Zambia, as well as a Southern Sun hotel in Ghana. Both should be open by sometime next year, according to Booysen. TSH will also continue with renovations at the Suncoast in Durban, South Africa, a project that carries a price tag of $127 million.

Booysen also told the news outlet, “We’ve got opportunities in the Western Cape, with the possible relocation of the smaller casinos into the metropole. Also in Cape Town, Tsogo has opened StayEasy budget hotels in the city, and Maputo.”