Holiday Inn owner IHG names company insider as CFO

(Reuters) -Holiday Inn owner IHG has named Michael Glover, the finance chief of its Americas division and group head of commercial finance, as its new finance boss, sending the company's shares to a three-month high.

Glover, 51, will succeed current CFO Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson, who is stepping down to join bookmaker Flutter Entertainment early next year.

Edgecliffe-Johnson announced his decision to leave the company in October after serving as IHG's CFO for eight years. Analysts at the time said his departure was disappointing.

On Tuesday, the company's shares rose as much as 0.8% to 5,000 pence, their highest since Aug. 25.

Analysts at Jefferies said they expected the continuity implied by Glover's long tenure at IHG to be well-received by investors.

Glover was appointed as the finance head of Americas -IHG's largest region - in 2019 just before the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under Glover's tenure the region outperformed other markets in the third quarter of 2022 and its revenue per room was well ahead of its pre-pandemic levels.

Hotel operators have been raising occupancy rates and prices as customers spend more on travel and book longer hotel stays despite a cost-of-living crisis.

"His knowledge of the key operational and commercial elements that underpin our business and drive our performance will ensure seamless continuity....," IHG's Chief Executive Officer Keith Barr said in a statement.

An accounting & finance graduate of Baylor University in Texas, Glover started his career at Halliburton Energy Services before joining IHG in 2004.

Glover who is set to start his new role in March 2023, also served as the finance head of IHG's China region for more than two years.

(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Jane Merriman)