Building AX Group’s solid legacy of excellence

For the past five decades, AX Group has been synonymous with ambitious hospitality and development projects moulded by the firm’s core values: creativity, integrity and determination. BusinessNow meets its Chairman and Founder, Angelo Xuereb, as well as Claire Xuereb, Director of Hospitality and Care, and Denise Xuereb, Director of Construction and Development and CEO of AX Real Estate plc, who recall the Group’s evolution as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, while also looking ahead to a future founded on family values.

When Angelo Xuereb, the chairman and founder of hospitality and construction firm AX Group, was just 13 years old, a friend of his father asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. A simple enough question, but Angelo was shy and, as the eldest boy of 11 siblings growing up in a farming family, he had always felt the weight of his father’s expectations. “A businessman”, he had answered, much to the gaping mouths before him. His father didn’t approve.

Angelo spent the next few years driven to change his father’s mind. “At 16, I wanted to get into the construction industry, but my father insisted: no. He was probably worried since I had always been so shy, and, perhaps, he also underestimated me. At 22, I got married, and thought, ‘this is my chance’. Although I didn’t have his support, I was determined to prove to my father and to myself that I could make a success of myself,” Angelo recalls. So, he sold his car and used the money the young couple had received as wedding gifts to open a one-man show in 1975: Angelo Xuereb Limited.

“At first, I was doing very modest work as a small contractor, such as fixing pavements. I was on my own and nobody knew me – people knew my father in the village but beyond that, I was anonymous. I started to apply for public tenders, and I was extremely eager. I couldn’t fail, so I was working like mad, at all times of the day and at the weekends to finish any contracts I received,” he explains, describing his enduring passion for his work, and particularly for design – for “picking up a pencil, a ruler and a piece of paper, and making some plans.”

One day, as he was overseeing the completion of work on a boundary wall for a factory which had yet to be built, he was called in for a meeting with the Minister for Works at the time. “I was still wearing my dusty construction clothes; he asked me my name and gave me the responsibility to build one block of the factory. Apparently, the developer who had received the contract was reneging on his deadlines, and they needed to see progress.”

Angelo delivered, and, by 1977, just two years after first opening his company, he inaugurated his own manufacturing plant making precast and prestressed concrete slabs – the only one on the island. Success followed swiftly, with the factory growing in stature and reputation. In 1982, after accruing substantial deposits, Angelo made the move to diversify. “The growth of the company was exponential at the time, and I moved from construction to development to tourism, investing in some key locations,” Angelo says.

Central to his success was his ability to pivot. Angelo recalls having started to build what would later become the Sunny Coast, and being asked by a tour operator: “What would it cost if you had to reconstruct this by the sea?” The operator explained they’d be able to charge a higher room rate. Angelo halted works and shifted the site to a same-sized plot further down the road – right on the coast.

Later, another operator, this time Dutch, asked Angelo if he had ever considered developing a pool there. “If you have a pool by this summer, I’ll sign a contract with you,” he’d said. It was already April but, just three months later, the Sunny Coast opened – boasting a pool just a stone’s throw away from the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

“I remember those days, and earlier, when my father was still a one-man-band, and our house was filled with company business,” smiles Angelo’s eldest daughter, Claire Xuereb, who is today AX Group’s Director of Hospitality and Care. Claire grew up in the family firm – as a child, she was always giving a helping hand, and at 16, she started working in the business officially, mainly within the Suncrest Hotel, which was inaugurated in 1987. At the time, it was the largest hotel on the Maltese Islands.

“The growth of the company really began when he started delegating responsibilities to different people he trusted and started to diversify,” she recounts. While the intention was always to move into a more senior role in the family business, in her early days, Claire felt the need to boost her skills and credentials. “I felt I needed to learn, and to learn from the best.”

To this end, Claire moved to Switzerland to complete her education in hospitality management. She came back home in 2001. By this time, the family firm had expanded significantly, to include AX The Victoria Hotel and AX Palazzo Capua, as well as the provision of healthcare services, with the Capua Hospital (today St James Hospital) in Sliema inaugurated in 1996. In 1999, the firm became publicly listed through Suncrest plc. “Upon my return, I directed my attention to Suncrest, where I had spent much of my childhood. I established a department called Revenue Management, and at the age of 24, I transitioned to work on AX The Victoria Hotel in Sliema, where I successfully quadruped profits within a year.”

Her younger sister, Denise – nine years Claire’s junior – was soon to join the team. “I started by doing the jobs my elder sister told me to do,” Denise laughs, adding that she initially took on animation, housekeeping, F&B and guest relations duties. She later moved to AX The Victoria Hotel, where she worked in the events team, and then, in the early 2000s, became part of AX The Palace Hotel’s pre-opening team.

“At first, I was tasked with overseeing the completion of TemptAsian – our top-floor Asian restaurant at AX The Palace – which had to be finished in just three months,” Denise says. She admits that, initially, she “had no idea where to start”, but after meeting the deadline, she realised her passion for construction projects. “As a child, I would often accompany my father to construction sites; it was time I could spend with him. So after earning my Bachelor’s degree here in Malta and a Master’s in Project and Programme Management in France, I returned and began focusing on the construction side of the business,” she says.

Today, while the firm – consolidated under AX Group in 2018 – has maintained its established position in the hotels, real estate and construction industries, it has also expanded into renewable energy, and continues to build its care sector portfolio, exemplified by the recent introduction of the Hilltop Retirement Village. The Group employs over 1,200 people across its diverse investments, which include eight hotels and 20 food and beverage outlets.

“Our strategy continues to revolve around the core values of our family business: creativity, integrity, and determination,” Denise says. “We have also evolved with the times. The inception of a company is just the beginning, but to make it profitable, you need to be flexible. In the Group, every business we operate is independent and self-sufficient, and every element must be sustainable – this approach runs throughout the entire firm,” she adds.

The Group’s Founder and Directors acknowledge that there have been ventures that failed. “As a rule of thumb, only one out of every 10 ideas will succeed,” Claire states, explaining that the business had previously ventured into medical equipment and security services with limited success. However, “we’ve learnt some lasting lessons and mastered our trade, so we now address any contingencies thoroughly before pursuing anything new.”

This grounded perspective has enabled the Group to think outside the box and continue to evolve, guided by a well-defined succession plan with Claire and Denise at its core. Indeed, the recently launched AX ODYCY – a four-star hotel on the site of the former Suncrest which opened this year – stands as a testament to this.

“I must admit to being the creative and wild one in the family,” Claire laughs. “When I took over the Suncrest a few years ago, I worked closely with the General Manager to break even, as it had been operating at a loss. Despite this, its future was uncertain, and we were very emotionally attached to the brand. We had intense internal debates, but we believed in it. So, we decided to reshape it, fill a gap in the four-star market, and take a more holistic approach to developing the entire area in front of it, including the addition of a promenade.”

Denise emphasises their commitment to building the legacy of AX Group: “We were never forced into the family business; we had the freedom to pursue our own paths, but it was a natural choice. It was always clear that if we wanted to join the firm, we had to earn our place and respect. Over time, the company has gone through many growth cycles, and in the last couple of years, we’ve seen the largest growth investment the Group has ever made, including €70 million in AX ODYCY, €80 million in the new Verdala Project in Rabat, and a significant investment in our new offices in Mosta.” Furthermore, Denise says, “we’ll be transforming the Sunny Coast, in a similar manner. The Sunny Coast was the first hotel property that our father developed and, today, as a team – myself, my father and my sister – bring a wealth of expertise as we discuss its demolition, reconstruction and transformation. Our goal is to align the property with today’s business needs and bring out the best it can offer. Witness ing this full cycle of transformation together, as the business transitions across generations, is both an emotional and rewarding experience.”

“We enjoy creating and developing quality projects,” Claire adds. “And we want to ensure that we’re contributing to the Maltese economy by generating value and the employment that comes with it.” This focus will remain a priority as the Group celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the Founder and Directors note. Looking ahead, Denise adds, the plan is to “always stay connected to the local market, as we strongly believe in enhancing the Maltese product. However, we will also be exploring opportunities beyond our shores.”

With 50 years since the founding of the business, AX Group’s Chairman has much to be proud of. In 2018, he was even named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for Malta. So, does he have any plans to retire on a high note? Angelo laughs. “I’m trying to take a break and have some time to travel. I’m proud of building my businesses step by step, with integrity, but I have no plans to stop,” he says, then adds with a smile, “just give me a blank sheet of paper, a pencil and a ruler, and I’ll keep making plans.”