"The amount of value coming out of each property is pretty restricted."But that does not mean he is ruling himself out of the market long term. "We're in no rush to do it - we've so much on just driving the brands we already have. But we will look at it when [the opportunity] comes along."Whether that will be through organic growth or acquisition, he's not fussed. He says he would like to use the brands he already has - as with the Holiday Inn Express, a move he compares to Tesco's different formats - and if he buys something, it would have to be a chain with operations in a number of countries.Certainly, there's enough cash floating round: a further £600m is likely to be raised from the sale of 31 European hotels. At the results, the group said some of this could be used to fund expansion.However, budget hotels aren't Cosslett's priority at the moment; China is.

The group has around 50 hotels in the country and he wants to increase that to 125 in just over two years. "China is going to be enormous for us in the future," he says.Cosslett believes there is a unique "interception of factors" driving growth in the country, from the booming economy to the predicted explosion in both inbound and outbound travel "That's going to be great news if you own brands. People will look for the brands that they know from home."We're going to have to get our people China-fied. The country is our number one focus."As he warms to his theme, Cosslett's time at Unilever and Cadburys becomes more and more noticeable, as do the long periods he has spent overseas (nearly seven years in Australia with Cadburys, for example). Speaking in a hybrid global drawl - "strategy" becomes "stradegee", "little", "liddle" - this is the ultimate marketing man, a real brand junkie. He talks of giving guests "a good feeling when they are in the property" and engaging in an "emotional contract".But his strategy is a logical one. IHG is the world's biggest hotel operator and yet boasts just 3 per cent market share.

And 60 per cent of the world's hotels are still unbranded businesses.So the growth opportunities are phenomenal as long as you are able to build your brands, so convincing people to run your hotels and guests to stay at them.IHG's size also works in its favour: it can offer managers and franchisees a wealth of support that smaller operators do not have access to - from call centres and websites to loyalty schemes and huge marketing budgets. "We create a system, and that system is the machine that really drives demand. We put a lot of time and effort into building the horsepower of this system."On the way out, Cosslett shows the pictures that will take pride of place on his post-gulag walls They are all of IHG hotels and locations If it seems a bit cheesy, that's because it is. But the industry is becoming more and more competitive and marketing is vital. Cosslett wants to make sure that, like him, IHG stays in shape.BIOGRAPHYBORN 14 April 1955.EDUCATION BA in economics and MA in European Studies, University of Manchester.CAREER1979: marketing manager, Unilever. Went on to hold a variety of marketing roles in the food divisions.1990: joined Cadbury Schweppes as marketing director for Schweppes GB.