HOTELS group Millennium and Copthorne said the US slowdown and foot-and-mouth had hit home, after revealing a dip in half-year profits.

The group, based in Horley, Surrey, owns hotels in Europe, Asia and the US, including a 50 per cent stake in The Plaza.

The foot-and-mouth crisis and the sluggish US economy saw a fall in the number of visitors to hotels in London.

A fall in corporate travel hit the group's New York hotels particularly hard, with a spate of cancellations.

Pre-tax profits in the six months to June 30 fell to £46.2m from £53.6m in the same period last year. Turnover slipped three per cent to £313.5m.

Across the US, occupancy rates fell by about seven per cent, while in London, where Millennium owns hotels in Kensington, Mayfair and Knightsbridge, occupancy rates dropped from 83.9 per cent in the first half of last year to 80.6 per cent.

The group, which owns the Copthorne Hotel in Newcastle, said it was a slightly better story across the UK, with rates edging up 2.3 per cent to 73.8 per cent, but overall, group occupancy rates slipped from 69.1 per cent to 66.9 per cent.

Chairman Kwek Leng Beng said: "Looking ahead, the outlook for the industry in the US and the UK continues to be challenging.

"We remain cautious on the prospects for the second half, which will depend on the economic environment in these and our other major markets."

He did add, however, that the second-half was traditionally Millennium's busiest time of the year.

Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 4.2p per share, unchanged from last year's payout.