INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) has announced its US$430 million acquisition of Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Group, the largest independent boutique hotel and restaurant business in the US, with intentions of bringing the brand to Europe and Asia.
Established in 1981, Kimpton manages 62 hotels and 11,300 rooms across 28 cities in the US, with a further 16 hotels in the pipeline. It also operates 71 hotel-based destination restaurants, bars and lounges across the US.
Adding Kimpton to IHG’s portfolio of preferred brands is highly complementary with its Hotel Indigo and Even Hotels brands, and will establish the company as a clear market leader in the boutique segment, with over 200 open and pipeline hotels across 19 countries, the press release stated.
The boutique hotel segment has been the fastest growing in the hospitality industry over the last four years, with demand, supply and RevPAR growth for boutique hotels in the US each significantly outperforming the overall industry.
IHG has identified significant opportunities to accelerate the growth of the Kimpton brand within the US and to launch it globally, particularly in Europe and Asia where there are strong demand for boutique brands.
Richard Solomons, CEO of IHG, commented: “The acquisition is another step in IHG’s well-established asset-light strategy of investing in high-quality growth, building on a strong track record of developing iconic global brands.”
The acquisition is expected to close during the first quarter of 2015.
