LONDON, June 26, 2026, 15:01 (BST)
- IHG traded 0.7% lower at $171.45 in London as the LSE session got underway.
- The company picked up 20,000 shares on June 25 at an average price of $174.4244. It says it will cancel the shares.
- Analysts see FY26 adjusted EPS rising about 14%, with a smaller share count giving a boost.
- Hotel pipelines stayed in focus this week as new deals were signed in Italy and Portugal.
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (LON:IHG) slipped on Friday. The more telling figure was in its buyback record. The company repurchased shares Thursday at an average price higher than anything seen during Friday’s session for the Holiday Inn operator.
IHG slipped 0.7% to $171.45 at 15:01 BST, according to Davy, after moving between $169.50 and $173.30 earlier in the session. London was trading at that time, with the regular London Stock Exchange session running from 0800 to 1630 BST.
IHG bought 20,000 ordinary shares on June 25 at prices between $172.05 and $175.65 each, averaging $174.4244, the company said. The $3.49 million buyback was handled by Goldman Sachs International. IHG will cancel these shares, leaving 149,163,876 in issue, not counting treasury stock.
The buy comes to just 0.013% of shares after the deal. But timing stands out. IHG paid an average buyback price Thursday about 1.7% higher than the 15:01 quote Friday, and $1.12 more than Friday’s intraday high, according to delayed data.
IHG said at its May 7 trading update that it’s finished $240 million of its planned $950 million buyback for 2026, which lowered its share count by 1.1%. Q1 global RevPAR rose 4.4%. RevPAR in the Americas gained 3.6%, EMEAA came in 5.6% higher, and Greater China was up 5.7%.
That’s why the buyback goes beyond just housekeeping. IHG’s latest consensus, updated June 22 with input from 14 analysts, shows FY26 adjusted EPS at 570 cents, compared with 501.3 cents in 2025. Consensus also shows basic weighted average shares dropping to 148 million from 154 million, and forecasts FY26 RevPAR growth at 2.7%.
IHG CEO Elie Maalouf said in a May update that demand across most regions was “better than expected.” The company said comparable Q1 rooms revenue rose 7% for groups and 6% for business travel, with leisure ticking up 1%. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC
FTSE 100 falls 0.7% as commodity and AI names drag London’s FTSE 100 traded down 0.7% at 0907 GMT Friday. The move tracked losses in commodity stocks, while worries over AI stocks pressured the wider market, Reuters reported.
IHG trades in dollars on the London Stock Exchange, after it switched its listing currency from sterling on Jan. 2. The hotel group said the move is meant to cut down on FX translation swings and line up with its reporting in U.S. dollars.
IHG said Thursday it signed four new hotel deals in Italy, pushing its total there to over 50 open and pipeline properties. The signings include a dual-branded Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites in Milan, Hotel Indigo Apulia Alberobello, and Garner Hotel Turin Porta Nuova.
IHG said Wednesday it has signed a deal to open InterContinental Vilamoura-Algarve in Portugal, converting the current Crowne Plaza into a 323-room luxury property. The hotel is set to open in April 2027 after renovation.
Willemijn Geels, IHG’s vice president for development in Europe, said the group sees “significant opportunity” to grow in Italy. Commenting on the Portugal news, Geels said the Vilamoura project shows owner confidence in the market and demand for high-end hotels. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC
