InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is to sell off its remaining 25 hotels, which are valued at £1bn, to raise money for possible joint ventures in new investments.

The sale of properties – which include the InterContinental Park Lane, London; Le Grand Hotel in Paris; The Barclay in New York and the InterContinental in Kowloon, Hong Kong – will form part of IHG’s strategy to sell off its assets and move to a branded hotel business model.

The surprising decision comes after the company’s previously-stated intention that it would not be selling its “gateway” hotels.

The news was announced in the company’s full-year report, which showed a 13 per cent increase in revenues to £805m and a 16 per cent hike in operating profit to £201m. However, pre-tax profit was down from £284m to £247m.

The hotels are expected to be sold over a period of years rather than months and potential buyers could include private equity groups such as Blackstone and property buyers funds such as Morgan Stanley. Details: www.ihgplc.com