Holiday Inn owner IHG books hike in annual profit

0 Intercontinental Hotels Group has a string of brands including Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza The owner of hotel chains Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza has outlined plans to make savings of $125 million (£90m) to reinvest in new brands and acquisitions as it posted a hike in annual earnings.

Intercontinental Hotels Group’s recently appointed chief executive Keith Barr praised a “strong performance” last year and unveiled a strategy to speed up growth, with plans to launch a premium brand in 2018.

IHG hopes the new chain will take a slice of the lucrative pre- mium priced market, while it also aims to take its recently launched mainstream brand, Avid hotels, global, having already signed up 75 hotels across the US since September.

It will likewise look to tap into the luxury market with targeted small acquisitions of brands to develop and grow.

Details of the plans came as IHG reported a 14.7 per cent surge in bottom-line, pre-tax profits to $678m for 2017, while underlying earnings lifted 8 per cent to $759m.