Pearl-Continental Hotels & Resorts

(Redirected from Pearl Continental)

Pakistan Services Limited, doing business as Pearl-Continental Hotels & Resorts (also abbreviated to PC Hotels), is the largest chain of Premium, Luxury and Select Service hotels in Pakistan with properties in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Bhurban, Muzaffarabad. and Malam Jabba, and under construction in Multan, Attabad Lake, Sukkur, and Mirpur.

Pearl Continental Hotels and Resorts Pakistan
FormerlyInterContinental Hotels
Company typePublic
PSXPSEL
KSE 100 component
FounderSadruddin Hashwani
Headquarters,
Pakistan
Number of locations
Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Bhurban, Muzaffarabad, Malam Jabba, Swat, Skardu, Hunza and upcoming properties in Mirpur and Multan
Area served
Pakistan
Key people
RevenueIncrease Rs. 13.26 billion (US$46 million)[1] (2023)
Decrease Rs. 67.77 million (US$230,000)[1] (2023)
Decrease Rs. -218.27 million (US$−760,000)[1] (2023)
Total assetsDecrease Rs. 64.74 billion (US$220 million)[1] (2023)
Total equityDecrease Rs. 44.93 billion (US$160 million)[1] (2023)
Number of employees
1,660[1] (2023)
ParentHashoo Group
Websitepsl.com.pk
pchotels.com

History

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Pakistan Services Limited was founded as a state-owned company in 1958. Later, it came under the ownership of Haroon family.[2]

The first Pearl-Continental Hotel in Karachi was inaugurated by President Muhammad Ayub Khan on 10 May 1964 and was the first five-star hotel in Pakistan which hosted various prominent figures from across the globe including Queen Elizabeth II, Nelson Mandela, and King Hussain of Jordan, among others. Cabin crew from Lufthansa, SAS, and Swissair would stay there during their transits. It was a member of the Leading Hotels of the World for over a decade.[3][4] A new hotel was built for Lahore and Rawalpindi in 1967[5][6] with another branch opening in Peshawar in 1975.[7]

In 2021, Hashoo group also launched a chain of four-star hotels under the brand name PC Legacy.[8] The PC Legacy Naran is functional and operating in Naran and another opened in Nasirabad, Hunza in 2023.[9][relevant?discuss]

Incidents

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In 1971, when the Pearl-Continental (or Khyber Intercontinental at the time) construction was initiated in Peshawar, workers digging underground to form its foundation discovered old human, elephant and horse bones. Archaeologists discovered that the Hotel was the site of a fierce battle between the armies of Mahmud of Ghazni and Jayapala in the Battle of Peshawar in the year 1001.[10]

On 11 May 2019, at least eight people including four hotel employees, one soldier and three terrorists were killed in a terror attack targeting the Pearl Continental in Gwadar, Balochistan, Pakistan.[11][12][13][14][15]

On Thursday night 26 May 2022, the roof of the 5-star property collapsed at Karachi's Pearl-Continental Hotel.[16] According to the reports one person was killed and three others injured after the ceiling of the five-star hotel caved in on top of them. The incident occurred inside the Marco Polo Hall at the hotel where an event was under way.[17]

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "PSL Annual Report 2023" (PDF). psl.com.pk. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ Levin, Sergey (1974). "The Upper Bourgeoisie from the Muslim Commercial Community of Memons in Pakistan, 1947 to 1971". Asian Survey. 14 (3): 231–243. doi:10.2307/2643012. JSTOR 2643012.
  3. ^ "Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi". www.pchotels.com. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  4. ^ "Luxury hotels plan expansion in Pakistan". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-06-18.
  5. ^ Web Archive taken from original
  6. ^ Original taken from Archive
  7. ^ Archive from Original
  8. ^ "Hashoo Group To Launch PC LEGACY Hotel In Hunza". The Nation. 26 Feb 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  9. ^ "CEO of Hashoo Group unveils PC Legacy Nasirabad Hunza". The Nation. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. ^ Dawn (2017) Pakistan: The lesser-known histories of an ancient land by Nadeem F. Paracha
  11. ^ "Armed militants storm luxury hotel in Pakistan attack". The Guardian. 11 May 2019.
  12. ^ "5 people killed in Gwadar PC hotel attack; army concludes clearance operation". Dawn. May 12, 2019.
  13. ^ "Pakistan attack: Gunmen storm five-star hotel in Balochistan". BBC. 12 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Pakistan military says five killed in hotel attack in Gwadar". Al Jazeera. 12 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Gwadar PC operation. Security Forces have completed clearance operation at PC Gwadar". www.ispr.gov.pk. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  16. ^ "PEARL CONTINENTAL HOTEL ROOF COLLAPSES". ARY NEWS. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Death toll in Karachi's Pearl-Continental Hotel roof collapse rises to two". Dawn News. Retrieved June 18, 2022.