Hotel group, Queens Moat Houses, is to embark on a rebranding programme following the announcement of annual results that have proved better than expected. Some £150m will be invested in refurbishing properties and lifting brand awareness to shed its stoic image and to target a more informal and larger slice of the corporate market. In the year to 31 December 2000, pre-tax profits fell 20 per cent to £17.5m, however the company paid off £131m in debt to reduce the figure to £626m with no repayments for four years. When the current management took over Queens Moat in 1993, net borrowings peaked at £1.4bn. Underlying trading profits rose 10.2 per cent to £115.6m, led by strong performance in Queens Moat's Dutch and German hotels. Chief executive, Andrew Coppel, says the results indicate Queens Moat is in a much stronger position for development: These are very positive results. The business is in good shape and we now have a much-improved balance sheet. The outlook is encouraging, and, together with our investment programme, should continue to underpin the group's progress. Queens Moat Houses operates has 12,500-beds across 90 hotels in the UK, Germany and The Netherlands.