Reference no: EM133673663

Question

Internationalisation dynamics Our review of the market is written for the long term and we remain excited about the potential. It is especially important in times like this to operate a vertically integrated model like we do; by owning all of the value chain, from developing and building the hotels right through to managing the brand, the operations and the direct distribution, we are best positioned to access the structural growth opportunities and continue to create value for our shareholders over the longer term. The UK Market In the UK, we are focused on continuing to grow and innovate with growth delivered through our existing pipeline. With our strong brand and winning customer proposition, we are confident that we will be able to continue winning market share. Furthermore, the budget market in which we operate experiences higher growth than other hotel sectors and tends to outperform those other sectors in downturns. Budget branded hotels have outperformed the market in every year since 2008, including a material outperformance during and after the financial crisis, and we are seeing evidence of that once again. In Germany, we are focused on replicating our UK success, with the ambition to be the number one budget hotel operator. We have significant headroom to grow, both organically and through careful and considered mergers and acquisitions activity Germany presents an exciting opportunity given it has remarkably similar characteristics to the UK.