IHG Hotels & Resorts has been on a signing spree in the UK, adding eight new properties to its portfolio across five of its brands.
The additions will give further momentum notably to its Garner conversion brand, as well as to the Voco collection brand. Many of the new hotels will come into the IHG distribution and marketing system within the next year.
Signings across several segments
In Leeds, the group will be adding Hotel Indigo Leeds to its luxury and lifestyle category. Belfont Hotels will be delivering the 107 room property, which will open later in 2025. The company bought the Cosmopolitan in 2020, before planning the refurbishment and choosing a brand to work with. Countrywide will manage the reopened property.
The Garner brand is gaining traction in key markets around the globe, enabling IHG to quickly convert existing properties to the format. In the UK, it has three properties upcoming. In the second half of 2024, it signed Garner Hotel Preston Samlesbury, an 80 room hotel that has just opened, and is operated by KRO Hospitality.
It will shortly be joined by the Garner Reading Centre. Owner Nilvip Hotels is converting one of its established hotels in the town to the Garner brand, and the property will open with 53 guest rooms. A third hotel, Garner Nottingham city centre, will join the pair before the end of 2025, where owner Harpine Investments will be refurbishing the 100 room property to Garner standards.
Within IHG’s premium brands sits Voco, a collection brand that was launched in 2018. Towards the end of 2024, IHG launched the brand in London with the opening of Voco London Marylebone, a 93 room hotel that is operated by RBH for owners J Marylebone Ltd. It will soon be joined by Voco Corby, opening in late 2025. Ahead of that date, the property’s owners Avidity Hotels will carry out a complete refurbishment of the 104 room property.
IHG’s classic brands Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza continue to attract guests and hotel operators and investors alike, and both feature in the list of upcoming UK openings. A hotel at East Midlands airport will convert to the Crowne Plaza brand, with the 114 room property opening during the first half of 2025. Owner Yew Lodge will be refitting the 114 room hotel to meet the latest brand standards with a welcome Crowne Plaza guests will recognise, and a Marco Pierre White branded restaurant for dining.
Adding to the HIE portfolio
And planning further ahead, a Holiday Inn Express will be coming to London’s Woolwich district. There, a five storey office building will be converted to provide a 265 room hotel, featuring the brand’s three room types: urban, standard and suite. IHG expects this major property will become a flagship for the brand.
Currently, IHG has 362 hotels operating across the UK and Ireland, with a further 25 in the pipeline, ahead of these latest 2025 signings.
