FIVE-STAR PLAN TO WOO CHINESE AND AMERICANS

ONE of the world’s biggest hotel chains is opening more than 2,200 luxury rooms in the UK for wealthy Chinese and American tourists.

Intercontinental Hotels Group will revamp 13 hotels in cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester to make it the largest luxury hotel operator in the UK. The sites, worth £830m, are in major city centres.

It is the latest move by IHG to push into a luxury market fed by rising demand from American and Chinese visitors. The portfolio was bought by property firm Fonciere des Regions and will be managed by IHG. The hotels will be a combination of its five-star Intercontinental and boutique Kimpton brands. The latter was launched in the UK for the first time after IHG bought it for £316m in 2014.

Some will also be renovated for a new luxury brand which IHG will launch later this year.

IHG has more than 5,300 hotels in more than 100 countries, with nearly 1,700 in the pipeline. It expects the UK developments to deliver more than £200m in revenue by 2023.

In March, it bought a 51pc stake in upmarket Taiwanese Regent Hotels and Resorts for £28m.