Founded in 1991 by CEO Franz Gmeiner, the ORION GROUP's property assets have grown from an initial eleven-storey office tower in downtown Johannesburg to a property portfolio in excess of R600 million. This is a direct result of the expertise and experience of Orion management and staff. 'Our people are the stars in our quest for stellar performance' says Gmeiner.
Broadly speaking, the ORION GROUP consists of 5 divisions - ORION REAL ESTATE LTD, ORION FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, ORION HOTELS & RESORTS, ORION BUSINESS SOLUTIONS & ORION REAL ESTATE. The group is spread over five provinces in South Africa as well as in Swaziland & Lesotho.
Over the past 14 years, the ORION GROUP's vision has evolved from property ownership and facilities management to the formation of ORION HOTELS & RESORTS in June 2000. The GROUP's business focus is to acquire, maintain and develop facilities on a global scale. These facilities will compliment the commercial, industrial, retail, residential, catering and hotels portfolio.
The first independently owned hotel, ORION HOTEL DEVONSHIRE is located in BRAAMFONTEIN, Johannesburg. Other hotels in the ORION portfolio include the ORION SAFARI LODGE in RUSTENBURG, ORION MONT-AUX-SOURCES in NORTHERN DRAKENSBERG, ORION HOTEL PROMENADE in NELSPRUIT, ORION PIGGS PEAK HOTEL & CASINO in SWAZILAND, ORION WARTBURG HOTEL IN NATAL & KATSE AND MOHALE LODGES in LESOTHO.
The ORION GROUP plans to manage 25 hotels in Southern Africa through acquisitions, Black Economic Empowerment, joint ventures and management contracts within the next five years. These hotels will have the advantage of being well-managed boutique style hotels and will maintain the highest standards.
ORION REAL ESTATE LTD listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange in March 2006 through the take over of Alpina Investments Ltd. ORION REAL ESTATE LTD owns and manages a portfolio of offices, retail centres, industrial warehouses, commercial properties and apartment buildings.
ORION FACILITIES MANAGEMENT is an independent fully fledged facilities management company that performs the full spectrum of activities. ORION FACILITIES MANAGEMENT manages investment properties on behalf of ORION REAL ESTATE LTD, a family trust and numerous individual investments.
The ORION HOTELS & RESORTS DIVISION, known for quality service, provides a guest experience that both meets and often exceeds expectations. Each hotel, while retaining its original name blended with the ORION brand, has a unique character. This approach ties in with the GROUP's strategy of taking existing hotels with a proven record of accomplishment and adding a winning management philosophy, so that the hotel takes on a new lease of life.
ORION BUSINESS SOLUTIONS provides internally shared services to the ORION GROUP, as well as a variety of BEST PRACTICE MANAGEMENT consultancy and HUMAN CAPITAL services to a variety of clients.
At the cornerstone of the company's success is its people management philosophy, which is to accomplish 'extraordinary results with ordinary people'. This philosophy is based on a Human Resources model, which is built around a team-based organisation. Together with Team and Executive Management Coaching and a performance driven approach, the ORION GROUP has all the essential elements that are necessary to achieve superior business results and it will therefore continue to be successful in the future.
