History
Sofia Hospitality was incorporated in 2014 as a fully owned sister company of the St Anthony’s group of companies.
The origin of the diversified St Anthony’s Group itself, can be traced to a small hardware shop in Colombo, started around 1944, by entrepreneur, Deshamanya A Y S Gnanam. Over the years, this little hardware shop grew into a group of companies, evolving to meet Sri Lanka’s changing national development needs in the post-colonial era.
Today, the Group is active in manufacturing, importing and retailing core construction industry supplies. The business is built on more than half a century of international trading expertise and a network of trading partnerships spanning the globe.
One example is Tokyo Cement, established in 1982 by the family patriarch A Y S Gnanam. The company is Sri Lanka’s first privately owned cement manufacturing venture and is to date, one of the country’s leading heavy industries. Listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange, it is also one of the oldest private sector foreign collaborations in the country, starting with Japan’s Nippon Coke and Engineering Corporation (formerly Mitsui Cement) in 1982 and with Ube Industries since 2017.
These long-standing business partnerships are part and parcel of the Gnanam family’s style of doing business. They represent trust, strengthened over time, and also the family trait of great hospitality. Relationships were cemented, not only through corporate meetings, but in the warmth of the Gnanam family home in Colombo. The doors of home and hearth were open to family, friends, visiting foreign delegates, business partners and acquaintances.
Sofia Hospitality emerges from this Gnanam tradition of hospitality. The company’s hotel properties, managed by some of the leading hotel brands in the world, reflect the traditional family values of warmth, friendship and well being extended to visitors from anywhere in the world.
Company Structure
Sofia Hospitality (Pvt) Ltd, is a 100% owned subsidiary of the St Anthony’s group of companies. It is the holding company of 3 fully owned subsidiaries, Sofia Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, Sofia Kandy (Pvt) Ltd and Sofia Katunayake (Pvt) Ltd. The 3 subsidiaries own 3 separate hotel properties, in 3 strategic locations in Sri Lanka, managed by 2 international hotel operators.
The subsidiary structure, under the dedicated leisure holding company of Sofia Hospitality, has been designed to facilitate maximum financial and operational transparency, management and operational autonomy, and also ease of investment.
More details regarding the hotels can be found under projects.
Board Members
chairman
Anil Amarasuriya
Former Director/Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank and MD of Sampath Bank PLC. Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Sri Lanka, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants UK and the Society Chartered Management Accountants Sri Lanka. Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka.Awarded the CIMA Janashakthi Pinacle Gold Award for the Business Leader of the year in the large organisation category and also the recipient of the Indira Global Super Achievers Award 2007 awarded by the Indira Group of Institute, Pune, India.
managing director
S. R. Gnanam
Over Thirty years working experience in Business Management, Strategic planning, Social and Economic Research. Managing Director of Tokyo Cement Group. Chairman and Managing Director of several private companies.
director
A. S. G. Gnanam
Attended Illinois Institute of Technology Graduated in Industrial & Mechanical Engineering in 1973. Chairman & Managing Director St. Anthony’s Industries Group (Pvt) Ltd., Also Chairman of Rhino Roofing Products Ltd., CEO of many private and public liability companies.
director
E. J. Gnanam
Bachelor of Arts from University of Texas, MBA from University of Melbourne. Managing Director of South Asian Investment (Private) Ltd., Orion City Group, Rhino Roofing Group and also in the Board of Private, Public and listed companies. Has wide experience at leading corporate sector institutions in the garments trade, manufacturing and services.