Following the demerger of Accor's hotels and services divisions, due to be finalised at the end of June, Accor (Hospitality) is to sell off 450 of its properties between 2010 and 2013.

The hotels form part of the 1,600 properties currently owned by the company or operated under fixed leases, with the disposals planned for 2010 estimated to realise around €450m (£388.7m). On current projections, the entire sell-off is expected to increase cash by €1.6bn (£1.4bn) and reduce adjusted net debt by €2bn (£1.7bn). The move is designed to help finance an ambitious expansion plan, based mainly on an 'asset-light' ownership structure. This would see a range of different operating contracts being employed, with variable leases the preferred option for the best performing strategic hotels, mainly in the budget sector. Up- and mid-scale hotels will generally be operated under management contracts. Franchise agreements will be used to accelerate deployment of the company's budget networks.

Accor expects to open between 35,000 and 40,000 new rooms a year by 2012, with more than 80 per cent of these operated under either management contracts or franchise agreements. By the end of 2015, Accor plans the opening of more than 1,800 hotels - around 220,000 rooms - with the emphasis being on Europe and Asia. A further development will see the group merging the Suitehotel and Novotel operations. The new Suite Novotel brand - designed to leverage the strategic fit between both Suitehotel and Novotel - will be launched this summer.

Pic: Suitehotel, Coquelles, France