The first phase of the project will include 350 rooms, with an additional 150 rooms planned in a second phase. The hotel will feature two restaurants, bars, a leisure center with a swimming pool and gym, and comprehensive conference and banqueting facilities.

Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts, comments: "Radisson SAS has a clear strategy to become the leading airport hotel operator in Europe. The company is focusing on airport locations in capitals and main cities that have high passenger traffic. At present, Radisson SAS operates some 10 airport hotels in cities such as Amsterdam, Istanbul, Manchester, Oslo, Paris and Stockholm."

He adds: "With the successful performance of our award-winning Manchester property, we are now very excited to announce the addition of this new hotel at Stansted airport. Considering Stansted is the fastest-growing airport in Europe, serving a large and increasing number of business travellers, the addition of this full-service, first-class hotel will fill a critical gap in this key location."

John O'Halloran, Managing Director of BAA Lynton, the commercial property development arm of BAA plc, welcomed the development deal with Rezidor SAS, parent company of Radisson SAS Hotels & Resorts.

"This deal demonstrates continued confidence in Stansted as a growing airport location," he said. "This hotel opportunity attracted an extremely high level of interest from major international hotel companies and we were most impressed with the Rezidor SAS proposition. Radisson SAS is an exceptional brand and the new hotel will significantly enhance the value of Stansted for both leisure and business travellers."

In addition to its Europe-wide emphasis on airport hotels, Radisson SAS has a strong commitment to the UK market in general. With established hotels in London, Manchester and Stirlingshire, and new properties under development in Glasgow, Leeds and Liverpool, the company has earmarked the UK as a major development opportunity.

The Stansted hotel, which is to be built on a five-acre site, is being designed by Aukett Europe to complement the award-winning Sir Norman Foster-designed terminal building.

Notes to Editors:

Rezidor SAS Hospitality (previously SAS International Hotels), a fully owned subsidiary of SAS Scandinavian Airlines, currently includes 111 Radisson SAS hotels & resorts in operation and 34 under development in 38 countries and seven Malmaison hotels, all located in the UK.

For reservations and information, call 1-800-333-3333. Visit us at www.rezidorsas.com or contact your travel agent.

About Stansted Airport

• In August 2001, BAA Stansted submitted a planning application to increase passenger facilities at the airport, including increasing the size of the terminal, to enable an increase in passenger capacity to approximately 25 million passengers per year by 2010.
• Stansted currently has only one airport hotel. The StanstedHilton was developed fifteen years ago and has 240 beds.
• Stansted Airport is the fourth largest UK airport in terms of passenger numbers.
• Approximately 13.53 million passengers passed through the airport in the year to 31 October 2001.