New Hotel Development

Park Plaza Hotels Limited
14 March 2008



                                                                   14 March 2008


                            Park Plaza Hotels Limited
                                 (Park Plaza)


           Joint venture agreement to develop London's first art'otel



Park Plaza, owner and operator of 4-star hotels in Europe and the Middle East,
is pleased to announce that it has entered into a joint venture with Aldersgate
Investments Limited (Aldersgate), the property vehicle of the Reuben Brothers,
to develop a new apart-hotel under the 'art'otel' brand.  The hotel will be
located in the trendy area of Hoxton, on the edge of the City of London.



Under the joint venture, Park Plaza will, through a newly formed wholly-owned
subsidiary, Apex Holdings (UK) Limited (Apex), own 50% of the issued share
capital of Aspirations Limited (Aspirations), the company that owns the site on
which the hotel is proposed to be developed.



Apex will pay a cash consideration of approximately £3 million for the shares.
In addition, Apex will advance a loan of approximately £8 million to Aspirations
which will be used towards the partial repayment of a loan made to Aspirations
by Aldersgate. Following completion Aspirations will be indebted to each of its
shareholders for the same amount and on the same terms. The consideration for
the shares and the loan from Apex to Aspirations will be funded by Park Plaza
from existing cash resources.



The art'otel brand is built on the concept of individually themed boutique
hotels, each of which pays homage to a well-known modern artist.  These hotels
operate in the 4-star price category and appeal to a sophisticated clientele
with an interest in art and culture.



For the proposed hotel in Hoxton, Park Plaza is talking to a number of people in
order to identify a well known artist to be exclusively connected with the
hotel.  This artist will be involved in the interior design and feel of the
hotel throughout the development phase and their artwork will be exhibited at
the hotel when it opens.  It is anticipated that the proposed hotel will consist
of several hundred rooms and suites and a choice of restaurants and bars. It is
proposed that the facilities will reflect the brand proposition and include an
art gallery and two auditoriums, which will show cult films and house a
photograph studio. It is expected that a planning application will be submitted
later this year.



Park Plaza Hotels Europe B.V. has entered into an agreement with Aspirations to
operate and manage the hotel for an initial term of 20 years from the opening of
the hotel.



As at 31 January 2008 the unaudited net asset value of Aspirations was
£6,041,528. For the 10 months ended 31 January 2008, Aspirations made an
unaudited loss of £483,472.



Boris Ivesha, CEO of Park Plaza, said:



'We are extremely pleased to announce the development of London's first
art'otel.  Suitable sites in London to build new hotels are difficult to find,
so this is an exciting opportunity for us to purpose build London's first
art'otel that will fully reflect the brand proposition.  In addition to the
attractive location of this new hotel for business travel, the art'otel concept
is well suited for this trendy area of London.  This development will also add
to our portfolio of rooms, providing further impetus to our strategy to double
the number of rooms to over 8,000 by 2010.'



                            www.parkplazahotels.net



Enquiries:


Park Plaza Boris Ivesha                                Tel: [phone]
Park Plaza Chen Moravsky                               Tel: [phone]

Hudson Sandler
Jessica Rouleau/Wendy Baker                            Tel: [phone]


 
Notes to Editors



The Park Plaza group is owner, operator and franchisor of hotels in Europe, the
Middle East and Africa.  The group operates under two brands: Park Plaza Hotels
& Resorts (part of Carlson Hotels Worldwide), over which the group has exclusive
rights in 56 countries in EMEA and art'otel, a brand to which the Group has
exclusive worldwide rights.  Park Plaza Hotels also manages the luxury all-suite
Plaza on the River - Club and Residence, London.



Through its strategic partnership with Carlson, one of the world's largest
travel and hospitality companies, Park Plaza Hotels has access to Carlson's
powerful reservation and distribution system, airline partnerships with 19
airlines, loyalty programmes such as goldpointsplusSM for guests and Look To
Book(R) for travel agents, and cross-selling opportunities.



There are currently 26 properties and over 4,700 rooms in the Group's portfolio.
By 2010, the Group's committed projects and territorial franchise agreements
are expected to increase the number of rooms to over 8,000.



Projects already under development include Park Plaza Marrakech (2009), Park
Plaza Nuremberg (2009), art'otel cologne (2009) and Park Plaza Westminster
Bridge, London (2010).



Park Plaza Hotels floated on London's AIM Stock Market in July 2007.



Aldersgate Investments Limited is the property vehicle of the Reuben Brothers,
which has significant property assets and a development portfolio, including
sites in London Embankment, Paddington, High Wycombe, Newcastle and Gibraltar.



                                      END








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