Intercontinental hands back £500m

By JIM ARMITAGE
Updated:

 

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group is handing back another £500m to shareholders, taking the total returned in the past two years to £2.75bn.

The latest payout comes from the proceeds of the flotation of the Britvic soft drinks company and the sale of a stake in a US hotelier. It will be in the form of a special dividend.

IHG, under chief executive Andy Cosslett, is transforming its hotels estate, selling properties but retaining the management contracts.

It is negotiating the £600m sale of 30 European Holiday Inns and Crowne Plazas and the Carlton Hotel in Cannes. Westmont Hospitality of the US and Israeli tycoon Egal Ahouvi are in talks to buy many of them.

Under IHG's new model, profit growth depends on signing new management contracts.

IHG today said it had signed up 70,000 rooms in the year to 31 December, up 57% on the previous year, taking its total to 108,500 rooms. It has since taken on another 11,000 rooms.

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Underlying operating profits on continuing businesses rose 42% from £134m to £190m on turnover from hotels up to £852m from £731m a year earlier. The total dividend rises 7% to 15.3p.

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