IHG announced on Tuesday that Pro Invest Group has established a US$150 million fund to develop a portfolio of 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels across Australia.
Pro Invest has created a property development and hotel operating company to build and operate an initial 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels, totaling approximately 2,150 guestrooms, in central business, suburban and airport locations in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. IHG will enter into franchise agreements for each of the hotels under a multiple development agreement signed between the two companies. The first hotel will open at Macquarie Park in North Ryde, Sydney in the autumn of 2014.
“This fund is comprised of a group of offshore investors, all who see the potential of investing in both the Holiday Inn Express brand, and Australia. We believe now is the time to grow this brand in the market and travellers will certainly benefit from having one of the world’s biggest hotel brands to choose from,” said Ronald Barrott, principal of Pro Invest Group. “My previous experience in the U.K. tells me this partnership with IHG will be a long and successful one, and that there is plenty of opportunity to grow this initial portfolio of 15 Holiday Inn Express hotels to become many more in the years to come.”