Hilton to open 30 new hotels in the UK

Hilton Hotels announced on Friday that it has signed a strategic alliance with HLH Property to develop up to 30 new hotels in the in the UK over the next five years. This is the Hilton group's third major UK hotel deal with a property partner since it declared the intention to grow its family of brands internationally. The agreement is expected to predominantly focus on Hampton by Hilton properties - Hilton's 'new kind of economy hotel'. The joint venture hopes to introduce up to 4,000 new hotel rooms in the UK.

'Our development pipeline has gained significant momentum over the past year and this agreement with HLH heralds another landmark moment Hilton's UK and Ireland growth. Having already announced substantial alliances with Shiva and Somerston, representing a total of 40 new hotels, this latest deal with HLH highlights our continued ambition to accelerate our expansion plans through the Hilton Family of Brands,' said Simon Vincent, area president of Hilton UK & Ireland.

HLH is a company jointly owned and controlled by David Jason and the Selby family. Harvey Selby, chairman of HLH, said: "We see this as a unique opportunity to maximise market penetration as a developer in a sector with great potential, hand in hand with one of the world's premier hotel operators.'

Separate to the HLH deal, Hilton currently has 13 new hotel sites (2,563 rooms) being developed across its family of brands in the UK. Ground has been broken this month for the first Hampton by Hilton, which will open in Corby North in 2009.