CEO of InterContinental Hotels (IHG. L) Andrew Cosslett announced unexpectedly that he would step down from his position as of June 30, and that Finance Director of the company Richard Solomons would replace him in the role. IHG. L, the largest hotelier in the world, said that there would be no change in the strategy of the company once Cosslett stepped down.

A spokesman of the company reassured the public that there weren’t any health or split boardroom issues behind his decision, and also said that Cosslett would not move into a new position immediately after quitting his current job.

“The market will be disappointed at Cosslett’s departure but he has a good sense of timing and is probably sick of living in an airplane or hotel room”, said Nigel Parson, an analyst at Evolution Securities. In fact, InterContinental shares were the third largest faller, dropping 2.4% in price. However, before today’s trading, the shares had gone up by 2% since Cosslett joined the company six years ago in February 2005.

Andrew Cosslett himself said that right now was the best time to “hand over the reins” to his successor since he had already been with the company for six years and since IHG was entering a new phase of company development.