Hotel investors handed £530m

HOTEL operator Intercontinental Hotels Group hiked its dividend and handed £530m to investors after Chinese customers boosted sales.

The owner of the Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza chains posted a 6.4pc jump in sales to £3.3bn in the year to December 31 as it opened a record 19,000 rooms in China during the period. Revenue per available room climbed 2.5pc. IHG rewarded investors with a 10pc hike to its dividend to $1.144 per share and the payment of a £384m special dividend, taking the total amount returned to shareholders in the period to £530m.

The company has been investing in the luxury hotel market and the strong growth in China comes despite a trade war with the US and fears over a slowdown in consumer spending.

Profits slumped 26pc to £372.6m as it invested heavily in acquisitions. Just last week it splashed out £230m on luxury group Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas. It now has a record 271,000 rooms in the pipeline, most of them in China.

Shares closed down 0.5pc, or 25p, to 4604p.