Sanath’s bet on Sri Lanka’s southern coast: Rs. 50 million in the bank or property? GHR CEO makes his case

Jayasuriya and Dasun Wickramaratne, CEO of GHR Global sat down with Newswire for an in-depth discussion on its latest project. Full interview below:

Host: We have two very important guests for you today: Dasun Wickramaratne, CEO of GHR Global, and its latest brand ambassador Sanath Jayasuriya, who of course needs no introduction. Thank you for taking the time to join us in today’s discussion.

Dasun, my first question is to you. Let me start off with the basics: many Sri Lankans know and invest in apartments and real estate, but hotel residencies are not something that people are aware of. What are they, how does it work, and why Sanath?

Dasun Wickramaratne: I will start with how this evolved up to today; there’s a story behind it. I’m a frequent traveler, and I have three kids with my wife. When we travel, unfortunately, there was no hotel that fit our requirements, so I was compelled to find an apartment to suit our space requirements. Once I found the space in apartments, unfortunately, I couldn’t find the facilities—such as room service, restaurants, bar facilities, laundry service, and game rooms. So when the space was right, the facilities were not there; when the facilities were right, the space was not there. As a developer, once I came back to Sri Lanka, I came up with this concept called hotel residencies to combine both together.

That’s how this concept came into the market. At that time, developers, including myself, used to do vertical developments targeting purely the residential market. With this concept, we combined hotel facilities with the spaciousness of apartments, carefully crafting and fine-tuning it to suit market requirements. We are the number one hotel residency developer in Sri Lanka and have launched seven hotel residency projects across the country in tourist hotspots like Hikkaduwa, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, and Negombo. While our company has full awareness inside Sri Lanka, we wanted to deliver this message to the international market—such as the UK, Australia, and India. So we were compelled to find a credible voice to carry this message—that’s how Sanath Jayasuriya came into this play.

Host: Compared to some of your partnerships during your cricketing career—you’ve had great partnerships, you’ve had risky partnerships—is this the least riskiest partnership you’ve ever had?

Sanath Jayasuriya: When this opportunity came, I never hesitated. We have seen and heard of this company—a 23-year-old company with experience in Sri Lanka that has delivered. This partnership gives confidence; it’s not just about being a brand ambassador, it’s like a relationship built on trust and confidence. I want people to trust GHR Global the way I do, because Dasun has delivered.

Host: How did you two meet at first? How did you get to know each other?

Sanath Jayasuriya: He got my number and called me while I was driving from Matara. He asked if we could meet so he could explain something. I went straight to see him at a coffee shop, and we had a brief chat. The way he explained gave me a lot of faith and trust. We decided to have further discussions, and it became like a family friendship rather than just a brand ambassador role.

Dasun Wickramaratne: As a company, when deciding on a brand ambassador, we had a thorough screening and evaluation process covering cricketers and celebrities. We found Sanath to be the most credible person to deliver our message internationally, as he has built trust and credibility over his legendary career.

Cricket legend. Real estate CEO. One conversation about taking risks and hotel residencies.
pic.twitter.com/JNWyTCGAGW

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK)
September 28, 2026

Host: You mentioned that GHR has been building in key tourist locations. Is this part of the concept, and can you explain how this concept works?

Dasun Wickramaratne: Exactly. We are not targeting the residential market; we are targeting an investment package. For instance, if you have 50 million rupees, you couldn’t buy even a two-bedroom apartment unit in Colombo, but with 50 million rupees you can buy two units in a hotel residency project.

In 2016, when I introduced my first project in Negombo, no other developer was doing this concept. I was pioneering it in the market, much like Sanath was a game-changer in cricket.

Host: So, say I’m a potential investor—why consider hotel residencies rather than a luxury apartment, and over a short-term period, say 5 years, what can they get? What is your guarantee?

Host: Can Sri Lanka attract international buyers considering destinations like Dubai or Thailand?

Dasun Wickramaratne: Exactly. Markets in Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore are flooded, whereas Sri Lanka offers high rental potential and high capital gain on hard-earned money.

Host: Sanath, as someone from Matara, how exciting is it to see world-class development flowing into the southern region where your journey began?

Sanath Jayasuriya: Location is key. Coming down south to the Galle area is great because during peak tourist seasons, Sri Lanka still lacks enough residencies for tourists. Major projects in Galle, Hikkaduwa, Negombo, Sigiriya, Nuwara Eliya, and upcoming sites like Hiriketiya and Ahangama will boost tourism and yield strong ROI. It provides affordable hotel residences with full hotel amenities like restaurants and gyms.

Dasun Wickramaratne: From the interface it is 100% a hotel, but technically it is a condominium commercial property development.

Host: Given that Sri Lanka lacks certain property regulations like escrow accounts, what advice would you give investors on what to look out for?

Dasun Wickramaratne: Key factors are developer credibility, track record of deliverables, location, and price per square foot. Our track record is proven, and our pricing is very attractive compared to other developers.

Host: Sanath, what would you tell Sri Lankans locally and overseas considering investing in Sri Lanka?

Host: Why is putting 50 million rupees into hotel residencies better than leaving it in a bank?

Dasun Wickramaratne: Bank interest rates might give ~10%, but inflation is also around 10%, giving net zero real return. Hotel residencies provide both capital appreciation and guaranteed rental income.

Sanath Jayasuriya: Makes sense—you get your apartment unit and your money back.

Host: Can Sri Lanka become a destination for sports tourism, and how can hotel residencies support that?

Sanath Jayasuriya: Definitely. Visiting sports teams, young cricketers, and families from England, Australia, New Zealand, India, or Dubai need secure accommodations with pool, gym, and laundry facilities. Hotel residencies build the exact infrastructure Sri Lankan tourism needs.

Host: Brilliant! Thank you very much for joining us today. This was a great discussion, and I think our audience learned a lot.

Dasun Wickramaratne: Thanks for having us today.

Sanath Jayasuriya: Thank you very much.

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