InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed a 20-hotel franchise agreement which will double the number of Express by Holiday Inn hotels in Spain.

It is anticipated the agreement with British investment group Zinnia Hotels will require €180m investment over the next five years.

The first hotel is expected to open in Bilbao in late 2009.

IHG currently has 15 Express hotels in Spain, with six more in the pipeline.

By staff writer