Hilton considers sale of hotels

Leisure group Hilton reported a 41% hike in annual profits to £383.1m (€551.8m) today as it unveiled plans to sell a string of hotels.

The group, which also owns the Ladbrokes betting business, said it planned to raise £300m (€432.1m) to £400m (€576.2m) from the sale of hotels in the next 12 months - and hoped to return a substantial part of that to shareholders.