Last month, InterContinental announced an agreement to acquire a new midscale extended stay brand, Candlewood Suites, in the Americas.

InterContinental will acquire the Candlewood Suites brand from Candlewood Hotel Corporation (CNDL) for $15m cash and will be licensor on all current and future franchise agreements.

The group will also enter an agreement with Hospitality Properties Trust, which owns 64 Candlewood hotels and will purchase 12 more, to manage those 76 properties.

The deal is subject to CNDL shareholder approval in December.

Richard North, chief executive of InterContinental Hotels Group, said: “This is a very important new development for us.

“The acquisition of the Candlewood brand gives us the opportunity to make the most of our powerful franchising capability in the Americas to accelerate the growth of what is a high quality, established brand – and it does so without our needing to commit significant capital of our own.” Details: www.intercontinental.com