The owner of the Holiday Inn group, with four hotels in Norwich, suffered a pre-tax loss of £210 million because of coronavirus.

The Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) slumped to a half-year loss after taking a “substantial” hit from the crisis.

The group reported the pre-tax loss for the six months to June 30 compared with pre-tax profits of £287 million a year earlier.

MORE: ‘Covid has taken the joy out of retail’: Fashion store owners closing down after 23 years

IHG laid bare the impact of worldwide Covid-19 lockdowns, stating its UK hotels saw revenue per available room plummet by 90%.

But the group said it saw “small but steady improvements” that had continued into July, with global hotel occupancy running at about 45% last month and the decline in revenue per available room improving to around 58%.

Keith Barr, chief executive of IHG, said: “The impact of Covid-19 on our business has been substantial.”