Crowne Plaza hotels to lose Holiday Inn brand

Holiday Inn Worldwide, the Bass-owned hotel chain, is in talks to launch its Crowne Plaza brand under a separate identity in Europe.

At present, the 48 Crowne Plaza hotels in Holiday Inn's Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA) are tagged Holiday Inn. But Ian Burke, managing director for EMEA, said the upmarket hotels would all be identified as simply Crowne Plaza by March 1999.

"We will refine the detail over the next few months. It is made easier as we directly own 20 of the hotels," he added.

The move follows the appointment at the beginning of this month of separate presidents for each of the three main Holiday Inn brands - Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Express - across the worldwide network.

During the 28 weeks ended 12 April, the owned and leased hotels in the EMEA region increased revenue per available room by 6.8%. Operating profit was 11.1% higher at $20m (£12.5m).

Worldwide, there were 2,296 properties at the end of the period. Operating profit was up 10.2% to $130m (£81m).

Within Bass's managed pub division, operating profit was 12.6% higher at £116m. During the period nine Harvesters, 11 Vintage Inns (formerly Fork and Pitcher) and 24 O'Neill's were opened.

A higher rate of openings for the 2,812-strong owned and managed pubs in Bass Taverns was predicted for the second half of this year.

Group pre-tax profits were up 10% to £318m, from sales up 6.8% to £2.7b.