Two Holiday Inn hotels in Ipswich and Colchester have been sold.

East Anglian Daily Times: Holiday Inn Express, ColchesterHoliday Inn Express, Colchester (Image: Elm Studios)

Kew Green Holdings Ltd (Kew Green) has completed the acquisition of 21 Holiday Inn hotels from LRG Holdings Ltd, bringing its portfolio of Holiday Inns to 44 and making it InterContinental Hotels Group’s largest Holiday Inn franchise partner in Europe.

The 21 hotels acquired by Kew Green include the Holiday Inn in London Road, Ipswich, the Holiday Inn in Ipswich Road, Norwich and the Holiday Inn Colchester.

The rest of tthe hotels are throughout the Uk also in prominent cities and commercial centres. They will continue to trade as Holiday Inns under a new franchise agreement and will all undergo extensive refurbishment over the next few years.

The nationwide portfolio, brought to the market by specialist adviser Christie & Co in May, was sold for significantly above the £70 million guide price.

Paul Johnson, founder and chief executive officer of Kew Green said: “This is an exciting acquisition for us which will enlarge our portfolio to 53 hotels with almost 6,700 bedrooms in total. These new hotels will all benefit from a comprehensive refurbishment programme to ensure they remain ‘Great Hotels Guests Love’”

Kew Green has grown rapidly over the past 18 months making it one of the leading hotel owners and management companies in Europe.

Nick O’Keeffe, Kew Green’s Director of Business Development, added: “We remain focused on further opportunities to strategically grow the company through acquisitions and new management contracts across the UK.”

Kew Green now employs over 3,600 staff across its estate.

“We have an excellent talent pool in our group and this acquisition will provide further career development opportunities for all our employees, both in the hotels and the central support team,” added Johnson.

Jeremy Hill, director and head of hotels at Christie & Co said: “Kew Green Hotels’ acquisition of this portfolio once again demonstrates the strong demand for well-located regional hotels, following the sales by Christie + Co earlier this year of the Menzies and QMH hotel portfolios in the UK — like the LRG package, sold for over the original guide price.”