Sovereign Hospitality HoldingsSovereign Hospitality Holdings

The M.A. Kharafi Group has created an independent hospitality, tourism and real estate investment company based in Geneva, Switzerland under the name of Sovereign Hospitality HoldingsSovereign Hospitality Holdings. The new company has regional offices in South Africa and Egypt, and has been launched to expand through strategic acquisitions, financing and developing assets in the Hotel, Real Estate and Tourism Industry worldwide.

Sovereign Hospitality HoldingsSovereign Hospitality Holdings has seamlessly integrated assets of US$800 million to date and its existing portfolio consists of 21 hotels and resorts with over 4000 rooms which it owns and operates in Egypt, South Africa, The Gambia, Syria, Lebanon and Albania. Further projects are under development in Libya, Senegal, Ethiopia and Mauritania.

Sovereign Hospitality HoldingsSovereign Hospitality Holdings is looking to expand the geographical reach of its hotel, resort and real estate portfolio globally in both emerging and established markets. This will be achieved through a mixture of organic development and portfolio acquisitions that are financed and thereafter proactively managed. The portfolio is set to increase significantly with the completion of 11 further unique hospitality developments which will encompass some 1,800 additional rooms reaching a total of 5,800 rooms over the next 3 years, totalling 32 hotels in 10 countries.

In addition to owning and managing its hotels, Sovereign Hospitality HoldingsSovereign Hospitality Holdings has management agreements in place with a number of well regarded hotel management companies including Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels GroupInterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt International, Rotana Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Six Senses Spa. The company continually seeks to form this type of long term strategic alliance which extends Sovereign Hospitality HoldingsSovereign Hospitality Holdings' global reach across a range of markets and products.

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From 1956 with the advent of the construction boom, due to build-up of oil wealth in the region, Kharafi's Construction Division quickly established a dominant presence, expanding in response to the demands of a rapidly growing nation. It today presents its clients with an unrivalled fully integrated offering, and is able to cope with virtually any type of civil engineering or construction project, having worked in some 25 different countries alongside some of the world's foremost contractors and consultants.

A Grade 'A' International Contractor, the M.A. Kharafi Group has undertaken projects in the G.C.C., Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Eastern Europe and has permanent branches located in the GCC, MENA, Africa and Europe.

In addition to its principal areas of activity the M.A. Kharafi Group also owns Americana, the largest food company in the Middle East, an airline, and investments that include Kuwait's leading financial institutions and other companies listed on the stock exchange.

With an annual turnover of over US$4 Billion the M.A. Kharafi Group now operates in more than 25 countries and has more than 100,000 employees worldwide.

About InterContinental Hotels Group
InterContinental Hotels GroupInterContinental Hotels Group (IHGIHG) [LON:IHGIHG, NYSE:IHGIHG (ADRs)] is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. IHGIHG owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, over 4,000 hotels and more than 590,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognised and respected hotel brands including InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn^® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express^®, Staybridge Suites^®, Candlewood Suites^® and Hotel Indigo^®, and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club^® Rewards with over 39 million members worldwide.

IHGIHG has more than 1,700 hotels in its development pipeline, which will create 150,000 jobs worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels GroupInterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHGIHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com. For the latest news from IHGIHG, visit our online Press Office at www.ihg.com/media

For further information please contact:
Buchanan Communications
For Sovereign Hospitality Holdings
+44 (0)20 7466 5000

Malik Abdullrahman
Asda'a Burson-Marstellar
Riyadh, KSA
T: +966 1 2177250
F: +966 1 4640051
M: +966 503 44 7595
M.Abdullrahman@asdaa.com