UN Unilever NV

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG), the world's largest hotel operator by number of rooms, said Wednesday Chief Executive Andrew Cosslett will step down at the end of June and will be succeeded in the top job by Richard Solomons, chief financial officer and head of commercial development.

Solomons, 49, who has been with IHG since June 1992, said there would be no change in strategy when he takes the helm. "Continuity is at the heart of the business. This is the next chapter of the book. It is business as usual."

He has held a number of senior roles at IHG including chief operating officer of the Americas hotels division and interim president of the Americas region, and was appointed finance chief in February 2003. Prior to joining IHG, he was finance director of Britvic PLC (BVIC.LN), and chairman ahead of its initial public offering in 2006.

Cosslett, 55, said he would take a few months to decide on his next move. "It feels like the right time to hand over the reins. [I have] no immediate plans. It is an opportunity to take stock of the different options I have ahead. We have made a lot of progress and the business is in great shape." Cosslett said he is not getting any payoff on his departure. "I am taking the shares that I built up with [the company] and the pension," he said.

Chairman David Webster said Cosslett "has been an outstanding chief executive since joining the company in February 2005", but that Solomons is an "able and worthy successor" and is "the board's first choice to take the company forward."

At 1226 GMT, IHG's shares fell 24 pence, or 1.9%, to 1231 pence, the third-biggest faller on the FTSE 100. A trader said the departure of Cosslett was a major surprise and would not be welcomed by the market.

Cosslett joined IHG from Cadbury Schweppes, where he spent 14 years in marketing and general management, and before that spend 11 years at Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN)

Solomons takes up his new role July 1. The company has begun a search for a new chief financial officer.

IHG plans to more than double the size of its operations in the key emerging markets of China, India and the Middle East in the next few years as it takes advantage of growing traveller numbers and global economic trends, boosted by increased life expectancy, the use of low-cost airlines and Internet access.

The company, which largely operates a franchise model in partnership with hotel owners rather than owning them directly, will also look to introduce a new mid-scale hotel brand in the U.S., where it currently makes about two thirds of its profit.

IHG, which has seven brands--InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge and Candlewood--has previously said it has scope to widen its portfolio given the roster of rivals which have more than double that number, such as U.S.-based hoteliers Marriott International Inc. (MAR), which owns the Ritz-Carlton chain, and Sheraton-owner Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT).

-By Jonathan Buck, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9237; jonathan.buck@dowjones.com and Simon Zekaria, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842-9410; simon.zekaria@dowjones.com

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