Holiday Inn Express® leads IHG®’s growth across the UK and Ireland

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG®), one of the world’s largest hotel companies, has announced another step forward in the UK & Ireland with the signing of three more Holiday Inn Express® hotels: Holiday Inn Express® Grimsby, Holiday Inn Express® Dublin – City Centre and Holiday Inn Express® Middlesbrough – Centre Square.  The Holiday Inn Express brand is leading the company’s growth in this priority market.

The first of the three to open its doors (towards the end of 2015) will be Holiday Inn Express Grimsby.  The 80-room new build property will operate under a franchise agreement with Brayford Hotels.  The hotel will be centrally located in the town of Grimsby nearby the main railway station.

Based in Ireland’s capital, the next hotel to open in the spring of 2016 is Holiday Inn Express Dublin – City Centre.  The 198-room conversion property will operate under a franchise agreement with existing IHG owner Findlater House Ltd.  The hotel will be located in the heart of Dublin’s shopping district on O’Connell Street and is well positioned to attract a healthy mix of business and leisure travellers.

Also due to open in 2016 is Holiday Inn Express Middlesbrough – Centre Square.  The property will be converted from an existing office building and will emerge as a 138-room Holiday Inn Express and operate under a franchise agreement with Sherland Property OpCo Limited.  Located on the main square in the heart of Middlesbrough town centre, the hotel will be close to local attractions such as Middlesbrough Town Hall, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art and Cleveland Centre shopping mall.

Philip Lassman, Director of Development UK and Ireland, IHG said: “Holiday Inn Express is one of the fastest growing brands in the industry and the brand is certainly doing really well in Europe. The brand offers friendly efficient service, comfortable rooms and a free breakfast – everything a guest needs and nothing they don’t. It’s truly ideal for meeting the needs of corporate and leisure travellers typically taking short weekend breaks and business trips in this part of the world.”

Richard Farrar, Director of Leaf Hospitality, the company managing Holiday Inn Express Grimsby on behalf of Brayford Hotels commented: “Brayford Hotels is delighted to be adding Holiday Inn Express Grimsby to their portfolio. We were all determined to build a quality branded hotel the moment the site was acquired and we’ll do just that over the coming twelve months.  We look forward to making the hotel a successful local business - bringing jobs, investment and a quality brand to Grimsby.”

Sunil Joginpally, Owner of Findlater House Ltd and Holiday Inn Express Dublin – City Centre commented: “We’re really excited to be bringing the Holiday Inn Express brand to Dublin’s vibrant town centre. We couldn’t have asked for a better location. We’re looking forward to welcoming our guests and offering them a comfortable stay at great value in Ireland’s capital.”

Mark Ashall, Director of Ashall Projects, the property development company undertaking the project, commented; “We are delighted to have secured the opportunity to refurbish this building and contribute to the regeneration of the centre of Middlesbrough by welcoming Holiday Inn Express to the town. Bringing this project to fruition has involved a series of challenges and we would like to record our appreciation of the work undertaken by the professional team and everyone else involved in order to overcome them.”

About Holiday Inn Express® Hotels
Holiday Inn Express® hotels are a part of the IHG brand family and are the ideal choice for the smart traveller, offering them a great night’s rest while helping them be productive on the go. Fresh, clean, modern and uncomplicated, Holiday Inn Express hotels offer competitive rates for both business and leisure travellers. Guests Stay Smart® at Holiday Inn Express hotels where they enjoy a free hot Express Start® Breakfast Bar. Launched in 1991, the Holiday Inn Express® brand is one of the largest and fastest growing brands in the hotel industry, opening hotels at a rate of two per week on average. Currently there are over 2,260 Holiday Inn Express hotels globally.

IHG’s broader family of nine brands in nearly 100 countries and territories meets the needs of guests, whatever the occasion – whether an overnight getaway, a business trip, a family celebration or a once-in-a-lifetime experience. All IHG hotels participate in IHG’s guest loyalty programme, IHG® Rewards Club which is the industry’s first and largest guest loyalty programme with 79 million members. It is free to join at www.IHGRewardsClub.com.

There are currently 219 Holiday Inn Express hotels in Europe and 38 in the pipeline*.

* Figures as at 31st March 2014.

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IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of nine hotel brands, including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts.

IHG manages IHG® Rewards Club, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with nearly 79 million members worldwide. The programme was relaunched in July 2013, offering enhanced benefits for members including free internet across all hotels, globally.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,700 hotels and 688,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories, with more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.