Barclay brothers sell 10% stake in InterCon

The Barclay brothers, owners of the Telegraph newspapers and the Ritz hotel, have raised more than US $522 million by selling their InterContinental Hotels shares.

The brothers' Ellerman Corporation sold its 10% stake, despite many thinking that the brothers were going to buy the whole business in 2006 when they bought their initial shares.

However, it would appear they waited for the share price to recover after the downturn to a similar level that they made the original purchase before selling.

Good news for the hotel group, combined with other hotel operators making positive noises helped lift share prices in previous weeks.