Spanish business hotel chain NH Hoteles is to take over the management of fellow Spanish chain [http://www.hesperia.com/]Hesperia[/url]’s 51 properties.

NH, the third biggest business hotel chain in Europe, operates 349 hotels with 52,676 rooms in 22 countries. It has a further 54 hotels with 8,000 rooms currently under construction.

The move will create the largest predominantly city-centre Spanish hotel group in the country, with a total of 400 properties.

Hesperia, which bought a 25% stake in the group in July, will get a vote on the board for the first time.

NH Hoteles is aimed at the four-star business market while Hesperia is aimed at the five-star segment.

As well as a strong emphasis on providing all the essential business traveller needs such as Wi-Fi and good locations, both hotels have pioneered quality hotel food.

NH has a partnership with Spain’s most famous chef, Ferran Adria, the creator of El Bulli restaurant, and Hesperia uses the services of two-star Michelin chef Santi Santamaria, who has two in-hotel restaurants.