Eden Leisure Group is forecasting its profit after tax to increase from €2.35 million in 2022 to €8.1 million in 2023, with the more than threefold increase largely a result of bumper revenues from its hospitality division.

Revenues are expected to increase by 40 per cent over the previous year’s levels. The main driver of growth is anticipated to be the hospitality division with a growth of almost 50 per cent in income to €35.6 million on the back of the rapid and strong recovery in tourism as well as the robust demand for conferences and events.

The group’s entertainment and leisure arm is meanwhile expecting a relatively more modest but still significant 15.7 per cent increase in revenues.

The group’s financial analysis for 2023 also sheds light on the redevelopment of the site previously housing a number of cinema screens, including what was once Malta’s largest theatre, Cinema 16.

The mixed-use development will include a hotel, office space, commercial space, and a family entertainment centre to which the Eden SuperBowl will move upon its completion.

The hotel will be managed by InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) under the Voco Hotel brand. The hotel’s reception and lounge bar area will be situated on the fourth floor and will lead to a 1,300 sqm outdoor garden. The property will also include a roof top overflow pool, a pool bar, as well as a restaurant on the 14th floor with views over St George’s Bay.

The group says that the building is designed in a way to ensure maximum use of sustainable resources and renewable energy including the latest technology in cooling, heating, and insulation, as well as the reduction and reusing of water through the installation of a reverse osmosis plant and a grey water treatment plant.

It also said that the hotel will not rely on single-use plastics (such as plastic key cards and disposable soap dispensers) and will recycle all glass, aluminium, and plastic bottles.

“In this respect, the group is working with IHG with a view of setting the new Voco Hotel Malta as a benchmark for best practices in sustainability,” it said.

The office block will feature a three-sided glass façade and 3.6-metre-high floors. In total, the two floors will provide 5,000 sqm of office space, which could also be used by the Voco Hotel for events and business purposes.

“Despite the prevailing challenges in the market for office space office, the group believes that its investment will have an edge on competition in view of the building’s size, floor height, natural light, and superb location,” it said.

The project will offer rentable commercial spaces ranging in size from 220 sqm to 1,800 sqm. Talks are already underway with potential tenants “that fit with the overall vision and concept of the entire development”.

The building will also comprise an entertainment centre spread over three floors with a total gross floor area of nearly 4,000 sqm.

The complex will have a new 20-lane bowling centre and a significant number of additional new entertainment options including karaoke rooms, darts, and other social options.

The complex will also include a restaurant and bar offering.

Connected via escalators, the project will also have an area dedicated to the younger generations with a focus on modern entertainment such as virtual reality and video games that will be a first for Malta.

It is expected that the new family entertainment centre will open for business in Q2 2024.