Press release (issued on May 28, 2019) - Empire Group is honoured to announce the appointment of InterContinental Hotels Group as the Hotel Operator of the Hotel portion of The Mariners’ Club redevelopment project, and the signing of a Kimpton Hotel in Hong Kong, which continues to expand in the Greater China market. The signing comes on the heels of the brand’s first opening in Asia in March 2019 - the Kimpton Da An Hotel in Taipei. The brand now has five hotels in the development pipeline across Greater China, all located in tier one cities and popular travel destinations including Shanghai, Sanya, Nanjing and Beijing.

Empire Group was appointed as the development partner with the Sailors Home and Mission to Seafarers for the redevelopment of the site in February 2018. The redevelopment will be 42 storeys high comprising the Club portion in lower floors and the Hotel portion from 9/F to 42/F totalling about 350,000sf in area. The Hotel portion will command some 500 nos of full seaview guestrooms of 350-400sf in size.

Jonathan Kwok, Director of Empire Group, said “Today is a celebration to introduce our partnership with the Intercontinental Hotels Group and to bring this exciting new brand “Kimpton” to Hong Kong, which is well established across the US and Europe with an expansive portfolio of more than 60 hotels. As part of the redevelopment project of the iconic 50-year-old Mariners’ Club, the new Kimpton hotel in Hong Kong is set to become a city landmark synonymous with good design and laid-back luxury.”

Lesley Kwok, Director of Empire Group, added, “Hong Kong, with its global standing, strong infrastructure and extended reach to the Greater Bay Area, is primed for a new kind of hotel – one that is design-led, personal, that embodies laid-back luxury without the fuss. Kimpton is the perfect representation of this new breed of hotels, and we are delighted to be able to bring them to Hong Kong for the very first time.”

Jolyon Bulley, Chief Executive Officer, IHG Greater China, said: “Representing a fashionable lifestyle with exquisite personality, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is known for inspirational design and ridiculously personal service. With an increasing demand from guests looking for thoughtful service and a personalized hotel experience, now is the right time for Kimpton to expand its footprint in Greater China. As a global city, Hong Kong attracts visitors seeking to discover Hong Kong by virtue of its diverse culture, design and entertainment options, all of which make the city an ideal location for another iconic Kimpton hotel. The newly signed hotel, combining Hong Kong's modern style with retro elegance, will perfectly reflect the Kimpton brand spirit and bring a unique luxury experience to guests.”

For media enquiry, please contact

Empire Group - Ms. Lucy Chan +852 9093 0074 chanlucy88@gmail.com

IHG – Ms. Karena Liu +86 (21) 2893 3265 karena.liu@ihg.com

About Kimpton^® Hotels & Restaurants:

San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is the original boutique hotel company, which pioneered the concept of unique, distinctive, design-forward hotels in the United States in 1981. Anchored in one-of-a-kind experiences, Kimpton now operates more than 60 hotels and 80 restaurants, bars and lounges across urban locations, resort destinations and up-and-coming markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, Caribbean and Greater China. Kimpton spaces and experiences centre on its guests, offering inspiring design that evokes curiosity to forward-thinking flavours that feed the soul. Every detail is thoughtfully curated and artfully delivered, so that guest experiences remain meaningful, unscripted and ridiculously personal.

Kimpton’s employees, empowered to provide heartfelt service and experiences, have built a highly regarded workplace culture that appears consistently on FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. As a result, Kimpton has been awarded, “Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Upper Upscale Hotel Chains” by J.D. Power three times. In January 2015, Kimpton became part of the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) family of hotel brands. For more information, visit www.KimptonHotels.com.

About IHG:

IHG^® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with a broad portfolio of hotel brands, including Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas, Regent Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental^® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton^® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN^® Hotels, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts, voco™, Holiday Inn^®, Holiday Inn Express^®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations^®, Holiday Inn Resort^®, avid™ hotels, Staybridge Suites^® and Candlewood Suites®.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns more than 5,600 hotels and nearly 843,000 guest rooms in more than 100 countries, with over 1,900 hotels in its development pipeline. IHG also manages IHG^® Rewards Club, our global loyalty programme, which has more than 100 million enrolled members.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales. More than 400,000 people work across IHG’s hotels and corporate offices globally.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.ihgrewardsclub.com for more on IHG Rewards Club. For our latest news, visit: www.ihgplc.com/media and follow us on social media at: https://twitter.com/ihgcorporate, www.facebook.com/ihgcorporate and www.linkedin.com/company/intercontinental-hotels-group.