Thistle Hotels has reported a 5.9 per cent drop in profits to £45m for the year to December 31 2001 due to a sharp fall in international business and leisure travellers following the events and aftermath of September 11.

'Our results were achieved under market conditions which proved to be the most challenging for travel and tourism since the Gulf War in 1991,' said chairman, David Newbigging.

In London, revenue per available room fell by nearly 10 per cent on 2000 due to a significant fall in visitors from abroad. The regions fared slightly better, reporting a small overall increase for the year with revenue for room increasing by 3.3 per cent.

In response to press reports that Thistle is in talks over the sale of around £500m of assets including its regional hotels and bottom-end London hotels, Newbigging commented: 'We have been actively exploring opportunities to improve and rebalance our hotel portfolio, and we are in discussions with a third party about a possible transaction, but there can be no certainty that such a transaction will be agreed.'

Thistle owns 22 hotels in London, and 56 in total throughout England, Scotland and Wales