International Hotel Investments plc - Acquisition of London property

International Hotel Investments plc (IHI) announced on 6 February 2008 that together with the Libyan Foreign Investment Company (LFICO) and Istithmar Hotels FZE (Istithmar) of Dubai, it acquired the Metropole Hotel Building and the adjoining 10 Whitehall Place in London from The Crown Estate of the UK. The Crown Estate (the Treasury’s property arm) stated that the winning consortium acquired the property for GBP130 million (€174.4 million) following an international bidding process with 26 offers received from some of the world’s leading developers.

The consortium made up of IHI, LFICO and Istithmar entered into an Exclusivity and Development Agreement with The Crown Estate to develop a 283-room deluxe five-star hotel and a suite of adjoining luxury apartments.

IHI announced that on completion, the management of the five-star hotel operation will be entrusted to CHI Limited to operate the property under the Corinthia brand.

A spokesperson for The Crown Estate stated “IHI’s bid stood out from a strong field of competitors with a proposal to refurbish the building rather than rebuild behind the existing fa