Strong sales in the UK outside London have helped Intercontinental Hotels Group to increase profits during the first six months of 2015.
IHG, which owns the Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Intercontinental brands, saw operating profits rise by 9 per cent to $337 million compared to the same period last year.
The UK outperformed the rest of the European region for IHG with revpar rising by 6.1 per cent for the half-year, compared to an overall rise of 5.1 per cent across the continent.
UK trading was boosted by an 8 per cent increase in revpar at IHG’s hotels outside London, while the British capital was “impacted by supply growth and a less favourable events calendar in the period”.
IHG chief executive Richard Solomons said the company had “delivered our best first half for signings since 2008” thanks to global growth for the Holiday Inn brand.
“We signed the highest number of Holiday Inn rooms ever in the first half, including the two largest properties for the brand, and strengthened our leadership position in the fast-growing boutique segment,” added Solomons.
Holiday Inn Express has doubled its presence outside the US since 2007 while Holiday Inn has more than 100,000 rooms outside the US.
IHG added that the growth of its extended-stay brands had “accelerated” with the highest number of openings and signings since 2010, with more than 100 Staybridge Suites properties planned.
The London-based company has also opened five Kimpton hotels since it purchased the US upmarket brand.