Hilton has announced the signing a Letter of Understanding with Amplio, for a Strategic Development Agreement which, when signed, will provide the opportunity for Amplio to develop approximately 15 new hotels (comprising 2,500 rooms) in key regional locations across Turkey.

The LOU provides that over the next five years, Hilton and Amplio expect to introduce both Hampton by Hilton™ and Hilton Garden Inn™ hotels, all of which Hilton expects to manage. The first properties are likely to be located in the cities of Manisa, in the west of the country, and Diyarbak?r in eastern Turkey.

This will be Hilton's first multi-unit deal in Turkey and is the company's fourth major LOU for European development this year, which together will result in Strategic Development Agreements anticipated to deliver around 65 new hotels across Europe over the next five years.

"These critical alliances across Europe reinforce our position as the premier global hotel company and underline our strategy to sign multi-unit deals in key growth markets, such as Turkey," said Wolfgang M. Neumann, President of Hilton Hotels - Europe. "In signing this LOU with Amplio we are well on track to realising our ambition to open 1,000 new hotels internationally in ten years."

Last month, Hilton signed a Letter of Understanding with Belgravia Asset Management Limited to lay the groundwork for the introduction of 25 Hampton by Hilton™ and Hilton Garden Inn™ hotels across Russia, and in June this year the company announced a deal with London & Regional Properties Limited to develop 25 new hotels, encompassing selected brands within the Hilton Family of Hotels, including Conrad®, Hilton®, Doubletree by Hilton™, Hilton Garden Inn™ and Hampton by Hilton™ hotels.

Hilton has recently named Turkey as one of its key development markets, joining Russia, the UK & Ireland, Italy, the Iberian Peninsula, Germany and Poland as core strategic areas for the introduction of the Hilton Family of hotels in Europe.

"The size of this anticipated agreement is indicative of the huge potential that exists to develop the hotel sector further across Turkey," added Neumann. " Through this relationship we hope to be able to grow our existing portfolio in the market by 150 per cent in just five years, and at the same time fulfil the demand for quality mid-market and economy hotels through the introduction of our Hampton by Hilton™ and Hilton Garden Inn™ hotel brands."

The founding shareholders and board members of Amplio, Mr. E.W.Graebner and Mr. Alaeddin Babaoglu said: "Our proposed alliance with Hilton is a significant step in enabling us to realise our ambitions to open a chain of hotels in key locations across Turkey. We could not imagine a better and experienced partner, as Hilton has been operating in this market for over 50 years."

Hilton currently operates eight properties in Turkey - seven Hilton® hotels and one Conrad® Hotel. Today's announcement means that in the near future travellers will be able to stay at Hilton Garden Inn™, the company's ever-popular mid-market brand, as well as Hampton by Hilton™, an economy brand that is targeted to value conscious travellers.