Supportive Boron increases stake in IHG

Boron Investments, the vehicle of Dutch travel industry veteran John Fentener van Vlissingen, has upped its stake in Intercontinental Hotels Group above 5% amid the continued swirling of M&A rumours around the Holiday Inns owner.

Van Vlissingen's investment vehicle now holds 5.019%, up from just over 4% when he made another purchase in early December, to make him the second biggest shareholder in the FTSE 100 company.

In December, the Dutchman told the Sunday Telegraph he would support IHG in its battle to remain independent and would vote against any potential takeovers.

Van Vlissingen is supportive of IHG taking a more aggressive approach as the hotels sector consolidation rumbles on.

The group was reportedly being eyed up by a number of Chinese firms following the sale of Starwood Hotels & Resorts to Marriott in November, with IHG thought to be a new target for a trio of investors from the People's Republic that had shown interest in Starwood.

Shares in IHG were down 3.2% to 2,572p just before the close on Monday.