Introduction
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc is a dynamic, global hotel company, which owns, asset manages and/or operates over 110 hotels in 17 countries around the world.


Background
In 1995 CDL Hotels International acquired the Copthorne group of hotels with properties in the UK, France and Germany, (a brand that had been growing since the mid-1980s), in a deal valued at £219 million. Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc was then floated in 1996 on the London Stock Exchange. In Spring 1999 Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc purchased the majority hotel interests of its main shareholder, CDL Hotels International Ltd in South East Asia and Australasia, for a sum of £556million. In November 1999 the company acquired the Seoul Hilton in Korea for £140million and then in December 1999, the company acquired Regal Hotels in the USA for a sum of £395million.

In June 2000 as part of a capital restructuring CDL Hotels International sold its shareholdings in Millennium & Copthorne to City Developments Ltd (CDL). CDL Hotels International changed its name and focus in the Autumn of 2000, to City e-Solutions Ltd, CES, a hospitality industry solutions provider. Spearheading the strategy for CES, is SWAN Holdings LTD, (SWAN), which is jointly owned by CES and Millennium & Copthorne, 85% and 15% respectively.


Millennium Hotels & Resorts
Millennium Hotels and Resort was established as a global brand by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc to provide a common marketing and operating platform across its entire portfolio. It represents a worldwide community of hotels that provide consistent standards of excellence for business and leisure travellers alike. The brand represents a wide variety of hotel styles with high standards of service & facilities in every property.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts comprises three distinct brands – Millennium Hotels, Copthorne Hotels and Kingsgate Hotels and Resorts.


Millennium Hotels
Millennium Hotels are upscale and deluxe properties situated in premier locations in major international gateway cities or prominent business locations around the world. They offer travellers comfortable, stylish and interesting surroundings, which are sympathetic to the regional character of their geographical location. The hotels serve international business and leisure travellers and offer impeccable facilities and standards of service.


Copthorne Hotels
Copthorne Hotels are midscale properties in major regional business centres or resort locations in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. A well established European brand, Copthorne’s international expansion started in New Zealand, where it has now become the country’s largest midscale hotel group. Copthorne Hotels have received a succession of major industry awards in recognition of their quality, service excellence and distinctive style of operation.


Kingsgate Hotels and Resorts
Kingsgate Hotels is New Zealand’s largest leisure hotel brand with properties in all major cities and across both islands. In May 2006 the first Kingsgate Hotel in the UAE was announced.


Maritim Hotels Strategic Alliance
In May 2001 Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc and Maritim Hotels jointly entered into an agreement to form a global strategic marketing alliance. This alliance creates a large combined portfolio of hotels. Maritim is one of Germany’s largest and most prestigious hotel companies with properties located in all of Germany’s key cities and destinations and in six other countries: Malta, Mauritius, Spain (including Mallorca and Tenerife), Tunisia, Turkey and Latvia. This pooling of resources provides Maritim and M&C with immediate penetration into each partner’s geographic regions without extensive capital investments. It will enable both companies to exploit synergies, reduce costs, tap into each other’s geographical market dominance and ultimately lead to incremental revenues in the medium to long term. Customers from both Maritim and M&C will also enjoy an enlarged choice of hotels through the alliance.


Reward and Recognition Programmes
In order to provide extra value to customers, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc operates a number of different reward programmes for bookers and guests and co-operates with some of the world’s most prominent airlines in their travel award programmes. These include American Airlines - AAdvantage, Singapore Airlines – KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles, Delta Airlines, Japan Air Lines, Qantas - Frequent Flyer, Air New Zealand – Airpoints (in New Zealand only), Gulf Air - Falcon Frequent Flyer, Virgin Atlantic – Flying Club.


Sales offices
Millennium Hotels and Resorts has global sales offices around the world - details can be found in the group’s Worldwide Directory.