The Barclay brothers, owners of the Telegraph and the Ritz hotel, have raised around £330m by selling their stake in InterContinental Hotels, as suspected.
The brothers' Ellerman Corporation is selling its entire 10% stake - 29.9m shares - at £11.20 each in a placing conducted by Barclays Capital. The news has sent InterContinental's shares down 97p to £11.02, making it the biggest faller in the FTSE 100.
They bought into the business at the end of 2006 and took the stake up to 10% in May the following year, prompting some speculation they might be interested in buying the whole business, although many analysts questioned whether it would fit with their existing interests.
Traders said they had bought in at around the current level, and had probably been waiting until InterContinental's shares recovered before contemplating a sale. In recent weeks InterContinental has been lifted by a successful investor roadshow, and by positive comments on current trading by rivals such as Starwood.
Which then leaves the obvious question: what do the Barclay brothers want the cash for?
