BASS HOTELS & RESORTS TO OPEN 500TH PROPERTY IN EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA REGION

Company Sees Potential To Double Portfolio Again by 2005

Bass Hotels & Resorts announced today that the Holiday Inn Thessaloniki in Greece will be its 500th hotel in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. The new hotel, which opens in April 2001, forms part of a major expansion programme for the group which has doubled the number of hotels in EMEA in the past five years. Bass Hotels & Resorts sees the potential to double in size again, and believes it can reach the 1000 hotel milestone in EMEA by the end of 2005.

The company currently owns, operates or franchises 496* hotels in the EMEA region – up from just 207 in 1995. There are now 76 Inter-Continental hotels and resorts, 44 Crowne Plaza hotels, 271 Holiday Inn hotels, 90 Express By Holiday Inn hotels and 14 Forum hotels spread across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

The picture is similarly positive from a global perspective. Bass Hotels & Resorts opened more than 260 new hotels around the world in the financial year to 30 September – reaching a milestone of more than 3,000 hotels in close to 100 countries and territories.

David Bland, managing director for Bass Hotels & Resorts, EMEA said: “We have completed a particularly successful year in Europe, Middle East and Africa; opening more than 30 new hotels and increasing profits by almost 11 per cent as at the end of the last financial year. In fact, we managed to open a new guestroom every hour of every day last year.” He went on to say: “We’re continuing to grow and see the potential to double our portfolio again within the next five years. You can see how committed we are to growth from the number of hotels that are already in the development pipeline. We’ve approved applications for 106 new hotels in EMEA, and these will open in the next two years.” * as at 19 Feb 2001

Richard Hartman, Managing Director of Bass Hotels & Resorts Asia Pacific added, “Our expansion is a reflection of our absolute focus on and understanding of what drives customer satisfaction. With this growth, international and business travellers will be able to enjoy the superior quality and service levels of our brands to suit their travel itineraries and needs.”

Growth highlights in EMEA include:

Twenty-three new Holiday Inn hotels opened in the region in the financial year to 30 September, an increase of almost 12 per cent in room numbers. New hotels to watch out for include the Holiday Inn at Disneyland® Paris Resort, a flagship property opening in 2003, and the Holiday Inn Azores, the first internationally branded hotel in the Azores which opens in spring 2002 on the island of San Miguel.

Express by Holiday Inn is the most rapidly expanding brand in Bass Hotels & Resorts’ EMEA portfolio and was launched just five years ago. Since then, this quality, budget hotel brand has expanded to 91 properties across the EMEA region. In the UK, the company is celebrating the opening of its 60th Express by Holiday Inn hotel – at Milton Keynes. Meanwhile, in continental Europe there are now over 20 hotels in Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Benelux and new hotels are planned for Rome, Valencia, Hanover and Alicante.

A global $450 million refurbishment programme of major Inter-Continental hotels and resorts is now well underway in the region. An extensive renovation of the Hotel Inter-Continental Budapest was completed in 2000 and the property now boasts the largest conference centre in Hungary. Other refurbishment is under way, or planned for hotels in Vienna, Madrid, London, Cannes and Paris.

In 2000 Inter-Continental Hotels & Resorts opened its first ski resort, the 93 room Mzaar Inter-Continental Resort in Lebanon, just an hour from Beirut. Forthcoming new hotels include the Loipersdorf Inter-Continental Resort which will be the company’s first major spa resort and the Aphrodite Inter-Continental Resort in Cyprus, Inter-Continental’s first European resort.

In the past year Crowne Plaza also opened its first resort in Europe - the 300-room Crowne Plaza Resort in Madeira. Expansion plans this year include the opening of the Crowne Plaza London-The City in the summer of 2001 and the opening of a new hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt in March 2001.

Summing up his region’s expansion plans, David Bland confirmed: “We see the potential to double the number of hotels in Europe, Middle East and Africa within the next five years by striving to be the best - with hotels where people really want to stay, by being the best employer, the best hotel managers and offering the best franchise proposition around.”