The portfolio put on the market comprises four Crowne Plaza hotels, 68 Holiday Inn hotels and one Express by Holiday Inn hotel. They include a core portfolio of 63 hotels and a secondary portfolio of 10 hotels.

IHG will continue to manage the core portfolio of 63 hotels under 20-year management contracts with an annual fee of euro 17 million ($23 million) for the first year.Capital must be invested in the secondary portfolio of 10 hotels if the consortium wants to continue to use the IHG brand after 2007.

"This is a significant step forward in the execution of our strategy and we have achieved attractive management contracts," says Richard Solomons, IHG Finance director. "These long-term contracts give us excellent continued representation for Holiday Inn in the UK, one of our most important markets globally, and illustrate our strength as one of the leading hotel management companies in the world."

"This acquisition represents a significant opportunity for us as these properties offer tremendous value in terms of real estate and brand equity," adds Realstar Group chairman Jonas Prince. "We are excited to be working in tandem with our joint venture partners and IHG to ensure the continued integrity and viability of these properties."

The deal comes as part of a growing trend for hoteliers to sell their property assets in order to free cash and focus on being operators rather than landlords. Hilton last month announced plans to sell hotels worth euro 575 million ($777 million) on top of the 11 sites already on the block.