International Hotels Investments will be increasing its stake in its management company, Corinthia Hotels International, from 20 per cent to 70 per cent, chairman Alfred Pisani said yesterday.

Speaking at IHI’s annual general meeting, Mr Pisani announced that CHI will shortly confirm a management agreement with one of the largest hotel operators in the United States and which will be the chain’s management company in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

This will increase IHI’s potential considerably and should open up new expansion opportunities in these markets where the US chain has thousands of hotels under its belt, he said.

Looking back at the past year, Mr Pisani described 2005 as one that gave him “particular satisfaction” since it was also the first year that four of its hotels, in Malta, St Petersburg, Budapest and Lisbon, were finally in full operation. He said that turnover had increased by 17 per cent and had now reached over e54 million, with losses for the year also down to just over e750,000, a huge drop from the e6 million loss taken in 2004. The IHI chairman explained in detail the individual projects that were under way at its overseas properties. The Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal in Budapest has undergone a massive refurbishment programme with another smaller project – consisting of 26 penthouse apartments – coming on stream at the end of 2005.

“These apartments are proving very popular with working expatriates who wish to have a quiet base away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We are also working hard to complete a state-of-the-art spa facility within the hotel and which should be among the best in Europe.” Turning to the Corinthia Nevskij Hotel in St Petersburg, Mr Pisani said that IHI was in the final stages of negotiating a turnkey contract with a major contractor for the project, which includes the full refurbishment of the hotel’s lobby and public areas. He said the company was also negotiating with the city’s authorities to rebuild the two adjoining sites and restore the original building’s historic facades after their demolition.

Mr Pisani said the company had also embarked on another state-of-the-art refurbishment project at the Corinthia San Gorg in St Julian’s with the foyer and public areas now completed. Commenting on the Lisbon property, he said that although this year’s results were rather “soft”, there was hope for improvement in the coming months.

Mr Pisani said that although the company was not yet in a position to pay out dividends, the properties purchased had appreciated substantially in value and the ultimate aim of the board was to reward shareholders for their patience and substantial investment in the company.