IHG will continue to manage the hotels and use $25 million for capital expenditure on the 13 hotels over the next three years. "The remaining $425 million of net disposal proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including paying down US dollar denominated debt, returning funds to shareholders and investing in the business," a company statement says.

The hotels, comprising 3,946 rooms, form part of the tranche of 20 properties IHG placed on the market in July as part of its ongoing asset disposal program. They include InterContinental hotels in Toronto, Houston, San Juan and Austin, TX, four Crowne Plaza hotels, three Holiday Inn hotels and two Staybridge Suites properties.

The hotels will continue to be managed by IHG under a 25-year management contract with HPT. IHG has two consecutive options to extend the contracts on the properties for 15 years each, giving a total potential contract length of up to 55 years.

"This transaction represents another significant step forward for IHG and builds on our strong relationship with HPT. This demonstrates our ability to continue to deliver on our stated strategy of reducing capital intensity by selling hotels at attractive prices whilst retaining our brand on the properties," says Richard Solomons, finance director of IHG.