�We see this as an ideal combination of our respective corporate strengths,� said Dr. Bharat Sangani, chairman of Encore Enterprises.  �We have the available funding and acquisition/new development expertise, while Marshall Management brings more than two decades of experience as a top-level operator.  Encore Enterprises will be responsible for sourcing and negotiating acquisitions and building sites.  Marshall Management will oversee day-to-day operations once the hotels are open.�

�Encore Enterprises traces its roots back nearly a decade.  It acquired, turned around and sold eight hotels before forming its present operation, which has developed and acquired five properties in the past 24 months,� said Chuck Marshall, chairman and CEO of Marshall Management.   �We believe the current real estate cycle favors those with access to significant capital and strong operating experience.  Encore Enterprises already has established an impressive and successful track record, and we look forward to providing the operational expertise to maximize hotel profitability for their existing portfolio, and for new properties that become part of the joint venture.�

Funding for the joint venture will come from both partners, as well as from a number of other sources.  �We have the funding capacity to complete 12 or more transactions over the next three to five years,� said Patrick Barber, president and CEO of Encore Enterprises.  �In addition to significant internal funding, we are expanding our contacts within the private and institutional investment communities.  Overall, we expect the joint venture to invest more than $175 million in equity and debt. 

�We anticipate that our joint venture portfolio will be composed of about 60 percent acquisitions and 40 percent development,� Barber added.  �We will concentrate on areas with substantial barriers to new competition, initially where we already have properties, and subsequently expand into new markets.  Typical properties will be between 150 and 300 rooms.�

The joint venture will have a multi-brand strategy in order to select the best brand to meet the market needs of the property, according to Michael Marshall, president of Marshall Management.  �Between the two companies, we have excellent relationships with all the premium hotel brands,� he said.  �We believe our independence will help us source more deals, as well as create more opportunities to operate hotels for other hotel owners.

Marshall noted that Marshall Management will continue to aggressively seek third party hotel management contracts.  �Within three years, we expect that Marshall Management will become one of the nation�s 50 largest hotel management companies.  We have added 15 contracts in the past year, including a new contract to manage the 210-room Hawthorne Hotel & Suites in Toledo, Ohio.

�The joint venture with Encore Enterprises will give us additional size and distribution, which gives us greater synergies in such areas as purchasing and insurance, as well as in marketing and enhanced operating systems,� he noted.  �This is a win-win situation for all the hotels we manage for third parties today and for those that we will manage in the future.�

Under terms of the agreement, Marshall Management has begun operating four hotels owned by Encore Enterprises, including the 100-key Hawthorn Suites in Ft. Myers, Fla; the 101-room Wingate Inn in D�Iberville/Biloxi, Miss.; the 70-room Holiday Inn Express in Plant City, Fla.; and the 67-room Days Inn in San Antonio, Texas.  Additionally, Encore Enterprises is completing construction of a 100-room Wingate Inn in Miramar, Fla.  Marshall Management has begun pre-opening activities for the property, which is expected to open in December 2000.

Founded in 1980, Marshall Management, Inc., based in Salisbury, Md., is a full-service hotel management company with extensive operating expertise in two- to four-star, nationally branded hotels, independent boutique properties, resorts, country clubs, tourist attractions and marinas.  The company�s management portfolio consists of 25 properties nationwide.  The company has managed hotels under such brands as Sheraton, Hawthorne Suites, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn, Best Western, Ramada Inn, Quality Inn & Suites, Days Inn, Sleep Inn, EconoLodge, Best Inn, as well as a number of independent, boutique and resort properties.

Encore Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Gulfport, Miss., was formed in 1999 to acquire and develop hotels in markets with long-term growth potential.  The company currently owns four hotels and is constructing a fifth property.