MIAMI – Recently the Paris-based international organization, Real Estate International Federation (FIABCI), presented its distinguished annual award to the Brascan Century Plaza project in Sao Paulo's trendy Itaim Bibi neighborhood, where IHG's first Staybridge Suites in Latin America was established.

Sao Paulo's Century Plaza project quickly moved to the top of the list when the FIABCI, a professional organization that claims the membership of over 120 nations, considered candidates for its esteemed FIABCI Prix d'Excellence award for multi-use projects. This award came after the development won an equivalent award at the national level in Brazil the year before. That award help draw the attention to the FIABCI who recognizes projects that best personify excellence in all the real estate industries across the globe.

"The Brascan Century Plaza typifies design excellence, so we are truly honored to have the first Staybridge Suites in South America as part of this urban project," says Alvaro Diago, Area President of InterContinental Hotels Group Latin America.

"This is the most complete multi-use project created in the city of Sao Paulo and the country of Brazil," says Jack Delmar, Chairman of Brascan Imobiliaria SA, developer and owner of the project that bears its name. "It is a great achievement for the Brazilian community to be the recipient of this prestigious award," Delmar adds.

IHG's first Staybridge Suites property in South America sits as the centerpiece of the Brascan Century Plaza mixed-use project. The Brascan Century Plaza is situated in a major metropolitan area and features two office towers, a retail mall and cinemas. Built on 2.2 acres, the project boasts 1,100,000 square feet of building structure, 1,200 parking spaces and beautifully landscaped, expansive public areas.

The largest of the three towers at the Brascan Century Plaza is the Staybridge Suites, which features a heliport and 215 luxurious suites that boast a full range of amenities. The property is ideally located only eight blocks from the expansive Ibirapuera Park, which features a number of museums, one mile from two of the city's major soccer stadiums; two miles from Avenida Paulista, the city's major boulevard; and two and a half miles from the Anhembi Convention Center, Latin America's largest events facility, which is adjacent to the second largest Holiday Inn in the hemisphere, the Holiday Inn Parque Anhembi with its 780-guestrooms.

The prestigious Sao Paulo architectural firm of Konigsberger Vannucchi was selected to design Brasacan Century Plaza. The design architect, Jorge Konigsberger, is also President of the Architectural Firms Association of Brazil (ASBEA). "The Brascan Century Plaza project," he comments, "is a mixed use development located in a very densely populated middle class neighborhood in Sao Paulo. The main attribute of this real estate development is its accessibility to the public. It has an open block, offering a new open space and a plaza to the entire community, as well as the Staybridge Suites and the other amenities."

"The towers embrace an open air plaza where the retail shopping, restaurants and cinemas are located, creating a continuous festive ambiance that encourages 24-hour-a-day living," adds Brascan's Delmar.

Brascan, is a Canadian firm (Brascan is a combination of "Brasil" and "Canada") that has been operating in Brasil for over a century in the financial, real estate, energy, mining, agricultural and business services fields. Construction of the Brascan Century Plaza began in 1999 to commemorate the company's 100 year presence in Brazil. Together, Brascan Imobiliaria SA and InterContinental Hotels Group have developed hotels since 1974.

InterContinental Hotels Group - whose brands include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Select, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn SunSpree and Staybridge Suites hotels - continues reinforcing its position as Latin America's leading hotel company. IHG has hotels in almost every major city throughout Central, South America and the Caribbean.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC of the United Kingdom (LSE:IHG - News), (NYSE:IHG - News; ADRs) is the world's largest hotel group by number of rooms. InterContinental Hotels Group owns, manages, leases or franchises, through various subsidiaries, more than 3,500 hotels and 535,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories around the world. The Group owns a portfolio of well recognized and respected hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites® and Hotel Indigo(TM), and also manages the world's largest hotel loyalty program, Priority Club® Rewards, with over 25 million members worldwide. In addition to this, InterContinental Hotels Group has a 47.5% interest in Britvic, one of the two leading manufacturers of soft drinks, by value and volume, in Great Britain.

InterContinental Hotels Group offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at and information for the Priority Club Rewards program at .

Veronica Villegas
Kreps/DeMaria
305/663-3543
IHG