InterContinental puts hotels up for sale

Hotels group InterContinental is to sell hotels worth more than £500m (€749m) as it moves to focus on management and franchises, it announced today.

The group, whose businesses include the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, said it was putting 20 hotels on the market, mainly in North America.

It brings the total value of properties sold or being marketed by the company to nearly £1bn (€1.5bn).

InterContinental said the move was a continuation of its strategy to reduce hotel ownership and grow the management and franchise part of the business.

In the past year it has sold 28 hotels – including the London Mayfair - generating more than £320m (€479.6m).

Sites put up for sale today include InterContinental hotels in Miami and Chicago, as well as other InterContinentals and hotels under the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands.

The group intends to continue to manage or franchise these hotels, as it has done with the majority of its other sales.

Chief executive Richard North said: “We will continue to grow our already large managed and franchise businesses by capitalising on the strength of our brands and proven franchise and hotel management skills.”

InterContinental owns, manages, leases or franchises more than 3,500 hotels and 538,000 rooms in almost 100 countries.

Before today’s announcement the group already had 13 hotels on the market, with a total value of £110m (€164.9m).

The group, which also owns the Britvic drinks business, posted pre-tax profits for 2003 of £244m (€365.3m), against £258m (€386.7m) a year earlier.