AccorHotels appoints Jonathan Sheard as senior vice-president development

Jonathan Sheard has been appointed as senior vice-president for development at AccorHotels UK & Ireland.

The new role will see him lead the company's strategic priorities to accelerate franchise growth particularly for the Mercure and Ibis Styles brands. He will also acquire new portfolios on a franchise and management basis and seek out projects for development by HotelInvest.

Sheard has worked for AccorHotels since 1992, most recently as senior vice-president for luxury, upscale and midscale brands.

Thomas Dubaere, managing director AccorHotels, said: "Jonathan has held a number of key positions during his career at AccorHotels and has already contributed to the additional growth of our portfolio particularly in the Mercure brand which has significantly increased in the past two years.

"The UK is a growing market and we have ambitious expansion plans to reach 40,000 rooms in the coming years. Jonathan's skillset alongside the experienced team will be invaluable."

Sheard added: "The UK is a thriving market for hotels at the moment and there is real development potential for AccorHotels. We will be actively seeking new portfolios in the economy and midscale segment as well as continuing to drive individual franchise and management contracts.

"I am excited about the prospect of driving that significant growth over the coming years with a strong team to support the additions to the AccorHotels portfolio."

AccorHotels operates 12 brands including Sofitel, Mercure, Novotel, Ibis and Ibis Styles, across a portfolio of 3,900 hotels in 92 countries.

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