There are 210 new hotels in the development pipeline for London as investors remain optimistic about the capital’s market potential for growth post-Brexit.
That’s according to a new study by private wealth law firm Boodle Hatfield. Almost a quarter (48) of the hotels with planning permission or already under construction in London are located in Westminster, adding more than 6,800 new bedrooms. Luxury and boutique hotels account for 74% of the planned new hotels in Westminster.
These include: the former US Embassy in Mayfair, which is being developed into a 137-room, £1b Rosewood hotel; a Nobu hotel is being built in Marylebone that is part funded by Hollywood actor Robert De Niro; and the Londoner on Leicester Square, which will have 350 rooms and two cinemas.
A further 12 hotels are planned for the Heathrow area.
The UK’s hotel market is one of the few sectors of the UK economy to have benefited from the Brexit-related slump in sterling, the law firm said, because the decrease in value of the pound has made it cheaper for international tourists to visit the UK and has also encouraged more “staycations”.
Rajeev Joshi, partner at Boodle Hatfield, said: “Investor appetite in the London hotel market is holding up. But investors will want to know that this new supply of hotels can be soaked up by increasing demand.
“For tourism to continue to grow, the UK needs to ensure that post-Brexit, we do not start to be seen as a less convenient destination for tourists from the EU or from further afield. Greater investment in infrastructure will be a key part of this. Accelerating the delivery of projects such as the third runway at Heathrow and the Crossrail would help.”
Top 10 areas for hotels currently in development across London:
A busy month for events resulted in record-breaking hotel rates during September, according to preliminary figures from data company STR.
Average room rate and revenue per available room (revpar) increased year-on-year by 7.9% to £170.63 and 7.7% to £148.33, respectively. The figures were the highest for any September in STR’s London database.
Occupancy remained flat, down by 0.1% to 86.9%. A 1.9% increase in room supply was virtually matched by the 1.8% rise in demand.
STR analysts said that the room rate figures were boosted by a number of events including the 73rd Congress of the International Fiscal Association, PLASA Show and Sibos.
STR will release the full September results for London hotels later this month.
Investment into UK hotels has reached £3.22b in the first three quarters of the year, with Asia-Pacific buyers particularly active.
According to new research from Savills, despite volumes being down around 44% on the same period last year, the numbers are up 11.3% against the 10-year average of £2.89b.
This year has seen 97 deals take place according to the firm, a decrease of 49% from the 190 that took place in the same period in 2018. Overseas investment has accounted for £1.87b of investment so far this year, exceeding the 10-year average of £1.4b by 38%. While some international buyers have reduced activity levels this year, there is still significant interest and purchasing activity by buyers from Asia Pacific.
Asia-Pacific buyers have been the most active overseas investors to date in 2019, spending a total of £1.08b, representing 56.9% of total overseas activity. This is a tenfold increase compared to the volumes recorded over the same period in 2018 (£93m). The volumes are at their highest for the first three quarters of the year since 2015 when transaction volumes reached £1.13b.
Hong Kong investors have been the most prolific, spending a total of £947m to date this year (87.7% of total Asia Pacific volumes) making it the highest year on record in terms of hotel investment from Hong Kong buyers.
In terms of where capital is being spent, London attracted the most investment into the UK with £1.98b spent in the capital. The north followed with £465m, the south east at £430m, Scotland at £225m, the south west at £110m.
There has been an even split between portfolio and single asset transactions, with portfolios attracting £1.7b (53% of the total) and individuals £1.5b (47%).
Rob Stapleton, director in the hotels team at Savills, said: “Deal volume this year has undoubtedly been affected by global political uncertainty and wider global macro issues… while the UK’s regional markets have seen lower transaction volumes so far this year, we expect the ripple-effect of historically low yields in London to encourage investors into the more stable regional markets in the search for yield.”
London has overtaken New York for FinTech investment deals, according to new research based on Pitchbook data released by London & Partners and Innovate Finance, 23 September.
The report, called A Fine Year for FinTech: Global Trends from a UK Perspectiveexplores the FinTech VC-led investment trends so far in 2019, comparing countries and cities around the world, in terms of deal value, deal count and sources of investment.
It suggests 2019 has seen record levels of investment in the UK. In the first eight months of the year alone, more than US$2bn (£1.6bn) has been invested in London-based businesses across 114 deals, surpassing totals seen in any previous year.
London has has seen the largest number of FinTech deals completed in 2019, with a total of 114, overtaking New York in second place (101). San Francisco is in third place (80), with Beijing (24) and Singapore (23) competing for fourth and fifth.
The US remains the largest market globally, with $9.37bn raised so far in 2019.
A country comparison of global FinTech investment by deal value reveals the US in top place ($9.37bn), the UK second place ($29bn), followed by Germany ($998.8m), China ($770.8m) and Sweden ($736.7m)
London leads overall FinTech investment in Europe with $2.11bn investment, followed by Berlin ($881m), Stockholm ($734m), Paris ($330m) and Milan ($49m).
Out of the ten largest European investments recorded so far in 2019, London-based companies account for half these deals, totalling $1.8bn between them. The UK capital’s FinTech sector is a leading source of high value scale-up companies, with Monzo ($143m) and WorldRemit ($175m) featuring in the lofty ranks of unicorn success stories.
The UK capital attracts a wider international variety of investors than other European hubs, with 39% of investors coming from outside Europe, compared to 32% in Berlin and Paris with 24%. London also attracts a more diverse international investor mix than North American cities; only 11% of investors in San Francisco came from outside of North America, and 15% in New York.
Laura Citron, CEO, London & Partners, said: “London is the capital of capital. And as these numbers show, London is innovating to stay ahead, with more FinTech deals than anywhere else in the world.
“London is the natural home of FinTech because it combines the power of global financial markets with a deep technology talent pool, supportive regulation and an early-adopting customer base. FinTech entrepreneurs in London can meet the regulator in the morning, have lunch with a global bank, hire a top engineer in the afternoon, and enjoy world-class culture in the evening. That convergence is pretty unique.”
Charlotte Crosswell, CEO, Innovate Finance, added: “The UK is the clear global leader in the FinTech sector, spearheaded by London’s success and long-standing position as a major leading financial centre. It’s no surprise London and the whole of the UK FinTech sector is experiencing record growth – we are home to world-class talent and our historical pedigree enables access to key global markets. With record investment under our belt, this is the time to boost the sector further and secure future growth.”
The release of the research coincides with the opening of Sibos London 2019 (23 – 26 September) one of the world’s leading financial services events. Sibos 2019 marks the first-time this global financial services event has been held in London, and promises to be the biggest conference to date, with over 10,000 delegates. The conference explores the concept of thriving in a hyper-connected world with the challenges, and opportunities brought by mass digitisation and data-driven relationships.
A Fine Year for FinTech: Global Trends from a UK Perspective. Published September 2019 by London & Partners & Innovate Finance. The report can be downloaded here.
The London Convention Bureau says that 7,995 hotel rooms across 65 new hotels will open in 2020, adding to 158,956 existing rooms.
This figure has risen from 3,222 in 2010, an increase of 41%.
Total additions to the London hotel market across 2019 and 2020 are expected to reach 121 hotels with 14,840 rooms, a record two-year period for increasing supply of hotel rooms. The range of unique and exciting new hotels will provide meetings, events and incentive planners with further choice for accommodation and meetings venues.
As London continues to attract high levels of leisure and business travellers, hotel operators are catering for all audiences of meetings and events planners. Of the 14,840 new rooms opening this year and next, 10% are 5-star grade, 31% 4-star and 26% are budget hotels.
Significant new global investment in hotels and venues has also contributed to London topping CVENT’s European Meeting Destination rankings for the fifth year in a row. The rankings report highlights London’s wide and eclectic range of hotels and venues, with the UK capital providing meeting and events planners with more choice than any other major European MICE destination.
Compared to other European cities, London ranked highly for its variety of restaurants (1,416), meeting hotels (1,012) and total convention centre space (2,109,000 square meters)2.
A number of North American hotel brands have recently opened up or announced plans for new properties in London, including The Standard which opened its first European hotel in the UK capital in July, joining the recently opened Hard Rock Hotel. The W London Leicester Square, by Marriot, has also undergone a major refurbishment with new in-room technology giving guests an immersive experience.
Later this year, the newly renovated Biltmore Hotel will reopen as the first hotel to join Hilton’s New Luxury Collection – LXR Hotels & Resorts. Japan’s Prince Hotels will also debut The Prince Akotoki later this month, its first European hotel based in London’s Marylebone and showcasing Japanese minimalism.
Looking ahead, Edwardian will open The Londoner, the world’s first super boutique hotel in London’s West End in 2020. The five-star hotel will have 350 rooms, two luxury cinemas and a state-of-the-art ballroom accommodating up to 864 guests. Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s first London footprint, Pan Pacific London, is set to open next year, featuring a 370-capacity ball room at One Bishopgate Plaza. Rosewood will also open a new luxury hotel on the site of the former US Embassy in Grosvenor Square by 2023.
Tracy Halliwell, director of conventions & major events at London Convention Bureau said: “London is a top global destination for leisure and business travellers, and we are delighted to see a record number of new hotels and rooms opening in the capital. We’ve seen a range of exciting and cutting-edge hotels open recently like The Hoxton Southwark, The Stratford and Bankside Hotel, and we look forward to the upcoming openings.”
“London is a truly dynamic city with a range of new venues, hotels and experiences, offering event planners the opportunity to be innovative. We continue to see strong interest from the North American MICE market, with major corporates, associations and conference organisers committing to a whole range of events. London remains an open, diverse city and at IMEX America we look forward to speaking with event planners from all over the world to tell them about all the opportunities in our great city.”
The Drumsheds is a new multi-purpose venue in London for large events. It opened in June 2019 and is most suitable to host product launches, large parties, automotive, music and cultural events or as a film set. The launch event was a 2-day music festival on 7-8 June.
The venue is a black canvass space of four huge, linked warehouses which have capacity for up to 10,000 people and there are 10 acres of outside space.
The site was previously a gasworks, which operated between the 1930s and 1970s and has not been used since then. The Drumsheds is located at Tottenham Marshes and the closest station is Meridian Water which is on the Lea Valley line and has trains from Liverpool Street and Stratford stations.
The ICC Cricket World Cup has boosted hotels’ performance in London but failed to stop the regions sliding.
That is according to the UK Hotel Market Tracker: Q2 2019 produced by HVS London, AlixPartners and STR, which reports London recorded continued strong growth in the second quarter of the year as hoteliers pushed rates for visitors travelling to watch the cricket.
In contrast, regional revenue per available room (revpar) decreased for the second consecutive quarter, even with numerous matches being hosted outside of the capital. The report said the combination of top line retraction, cost pressures and unrelenting new supply is putting significant pressure on regional hotel margins.
With revenue declining, costs increasing and active pipeline remaining at 6% of current supply, operators may struggle to increase profitability, particularly in locations outside the main tourist hubs or without robust corporate activity.
Revpar in London increased by 6% in the second quarter, as hoteliers benefited from sporting events including the Cricket World Cup and Major League Baseball at the London Stadium.
Active pipeline (10% of current supply) will be monitored by operators in the capital given relatively flat occupancy, but a revpar increase of over 6% over the last 12 months demonstrates how robust demand remains.
Across the UK, only £360m of transactions were completed in Q2 2019 – some £144m in London and £210m in the regions – with transaction flow continuing to be impacted by Brexit uncertainty, which is seeing deals either being put on hold or taking longer to complete.
£2.1b of transactions were completed in London in the 12 months to Q2 2019, an increase of 54% on the previous year. This figure was boosted by the sale of the Grange portfolio in Q1 (£1b) and the 163-bedroom Crowne Plaza Kensington in Q2 to a Singaporean consortium led by Heeton Holdings (£84m, or £513,000 per bedroom).
Yields in London and the regions remain tight in comparison to historical averages, although there was little evidence of further compression in Q2 2019, except in isolated cases in London.
Elisha Temple recently headed into London to build her product knowledge on what the City has to offer for meetings and events. Here part 2 of her tour…
The Ned
Overall Impression:
The Ned, a gorgeous 1920’s building situated a few steps from Bank station. When you step into The Ned you are instantly amongst people, the mingle of conversations fills the lobby as you walk through to the reception area. It is fascinating to see the original style of the building with a slight contemporary twist. With 8 individual restaurants all situated within the ground floor lobby space, there is certainly something for everyone. Semi-private seating arrangements are ideal for informal, intimate meetings, catch-ups or networking.
There are 6 meeting rooms situated on the 6th floor, a dedicated conference floor with the Tapestry room which can hold up to 200 delegates in theatre style with the Saloon included for catering, you will never run out of space. All the meeting rooms are flooded with natural daylight and traditional high ceilings which gives you an airy feel. 2 terraces are also available for exclusive hire, with stunning views of the City of London.
251 bedrooms are available on site, each of these with their own shape, size and character. Again, the 1920’s theme has been continued however a modern twist has been added to make the rooms cosy.
The NED
Considerations:
This
is the perfect location for a client looking for a traditional venue to
accommodate large conferences in the City. The gorgeous décor compliments the
history of the building and brings the original features to life.
Searcys at the Gherkin
Overall Impression:
Searcys at the Gherkin stands tall in the City of London; a short 5 minute walk from Aldgate Station. As you enter you are greeted by reception for a quick security check before heading through the barriers to the lifts. Using the lifts, you go to the 34th floor before crossing into a second lift across the corridor to the dedicated Searcys lift to the 38th floor for the conference floor.
The conference floor holds 5 meeting rooms, 4 of these rooms can merge together to make 2 larger spaces seating up to 60 delegates in theatre style. Each of the meeting rooms are flooded with natural daylight and beautiful city scape views as well as flexible seating arrangements and AV equipment. In addition, there is the opportunity to walk around the outer edge of the Gherkin and experience the breath-taking views; a perfect way to break away from a meeting.
The Helix restaurant situated on the 39th floor of the Gherkin is available for exclusive hire. Seating up to 140 delegates for dinner, this space is perfect for corporate parties. Then, moving up the stairs you have the Iris Bar. Situated at the very top of the Gherkin you receive a full 360-degree view of London. This space is also available for exclusive hire and can hold up to 100 delegates for a drink’s reception.
Searcys at the Gherkin
Considerations:
A wonderful thing about Searcys at the Gherkin as it’s minimal chic gives you the opportunity to personalise and dress each of the spaces to suit you own requirements however there is also enough design within all of the space that it will not look unfinished without it. In a great location of the City of London and with breath-taking views, this location is ideal for a client looking to impress. With plenty of natural daylight, the meeting rooms are ideal for all day meetings.
Andaz Liverpool Street
Overall Impressions:
As you enter the building you are kindly greeted by the concierge. The lobby is a contemporary, edgy space with high ceilings with plenty of space for larger groups; this is certainly a themed carried on through the hotel. Andaz is in the ideal location next to Liverpool Street station, accessibility is perfect for those travelling into London.
The conference floor is a dedicated meeting space area with 14 meetings rooms there is a space suitable for every meeting. The entire venue is incredibly blank canvas and very malleable: TV screens, meeting room signs, coloured lighting – these are just some of the elements that can be changed to suit the client. The Great Eastern is a wonderfully open space with a designated kitchen area for service, this room can seat up to 250 delegates in theatre style and comes with the Gallery area for a breakout space as well as a supper balcony for a more intimate setting. Bishops Gate is another popular room, when hiring this room, you also gain the Chancery; an ideal pair for a day meeting with a catering breakout space for minimal service disruptions.
The meeting rooms are bright and airy with high ceilings and AV equipment available in all. The Studio is a standalone, completely exclusive space with a built-in kitchen. This space is perfect for team building, boardroom meetings. The Masonic Temple is certainly a memorable space. With a gorgeous marble flooring and fixed throne seating set around the outer edge of the room, this room offers a dark, mysterious tone. Perfect for dining or even conference, the Masonic Temple is the ideal room to make a lasting impression.
Bedrooms certainly continue the contemporary, edgy style. A practical room ideal for a corporate stay for 1 or more nights.
Andaz Liverpool Street
Considerations:
As one of my favourite hotels on the visit, I feel the general style of the hotel is very fresh and modern. The staff are very friendly, polite and helpful which has a massive impact on the experience at the hotel. Andaz certainly fits the criteria for those clients looking for quirky venues in the city.
The Montcalm at The Brewery London City
Overall Impressions:
The Montcalm is neatly tucked away from Chiswell Street, a short walk from the Barbican and Moorgate Station. As you walk into the Montcalm you are greeted by the concierge team who welcome you to a gorgeous lobby. The meeting rooms are all easy to access, well-lit and beautifully displayed; perfect for conference or dining. All meeting rooms are similar in size seating up to 20 in boardroom.
The bedrooms are very spacious. Due to the nature of the building, each of the rooms are different in size. One touch I found particularly interesting was access to a mobile phone for the duration of your stay that gives you full access of use for maps, calls, emails etc – when checking out this phone is entirely wiped back to its original state ready for the next user.
The Josephine room is situated in below the restaurant; to access this restaurant you need to walk down the road. The Josephine Room is available for exclusive hire and can seat up to 20 in hollow square.
The Montcalm at The Brewery London City
Considerations:
The Montcalm is a beautiful hotel throughout and is ideal for a relaxed meeting for up to 20 delegates. The location is ideal for those travelling by train and it is a great way to escape while still being in the city.
Virtway, the world’s largest 3D virtual world conferencing platform, has raised €4 million to launch in the UK, marking its first expansion outside the company’s native Spain. The funding was led by Virtway Invest AB and was driven by high demand for the platform in the UK and the USA.
Founded in 2014 by Spanish entrepreneur Jose Antonio Tejedor, Virtway is an immersive platform that provides online 3D virtual experiences such as conferences, fairs and training sessions. Users choose their own avatar and can present, talk and network with each other in real time, simulating the feeling of direct contact.
Virtway boasts that it enables organisers to create events that can go beyond the limits of the real world. It expands the attendee list to more countries while reducing the carbon footprint through reduced travel, amounting to a more cost-effective and greener alternative to physical events.
Jose Antonio Tejedor, founder and CEO, said: “This investment will be a great boost to what we hope will be a successful expansion in the UK following increased demand from English speaking countries. It’s a really exciting time for the company with a huge amount of interest in the product from companies and universities.
“We have an exciting and unparalleled product and are constantly working to improve the UX (user experience). There is no other platform that is offering the level of connectivity and experience that Virtway is currently bringing to the marketplace. The funding will be used to further improve the product and increase our footprint outside of Spain. It has come at a great time and we are looking forward to the next stage of our journey.”
With its in-house developed 3D engine, Virtway can be accessed through computers and both iOS and Android mobile devices. Events cost between £1,000 and £10,000, depending on the size of the event and their platform permits an infinite number of users to connect allowing 500 avatars to be present in the same virtual room not only from tablets and computers but also from mobile phones. In addition, Virtway attendees can talk, chat and network with other attendees from any device.
The platform can be used for a wide range of activities including conferences, careers fairs, training and remote learning. The wide range of applications has seen it being used by companies such as AstraZeneca, Accenture, Everis and Manpower.
The IEEE Robotics and Automation Society’s (RAS) International Conference on Robotics and Automations (ICRA) will be held in London in 2023.
The UK capital was chosen ahead of other shortlisted cities including Vienna and Copenhagen. It is expected to bring in more than £13m in economic benefit to London.
The competitive bid was headed up by Professor Kaspar Althoefer from Queen Mary University of London and supported by MCI UK, ExCeL London and the London Convention Bureau.
Professor Althoefer said it was a “massive boost for UK Robotics, considering that this is the first time ever that a major international robotics conference will come to the country.”
More than 4,000 of the world’s top experts and researchers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics will come to ExCeL London for a four-day conference between 29 May – 2 June 2023.
“We are continually looking to the future and the trends that will shape our industry,” Andrew Swanston, Head of Sales for Conferences and Events at ExCeL London said.
“We recognise that technology does and will continue to play an increasingly important role in delivering world-class events. ICRA will provide a fascinating insight into the role of AI and Robotics, and we are excited to see what we can learn from the content.”
London is capitalising on its reputation as a leader in hosting some of the world’s biggest tech events and conferences. The recent London Tech Week welcomed more than 55,000 delegates to 300 events across the city.
Other events hosted in the UK capital include financial services and Fintech conference SIBOS in September 2019, as well as corporate events for Adobe, Salesforce, Oracle and the largest Google Cloud event in Europe, Google Cloud NEXT.
Venture capital investment into the UK’s Artificial Intelligence sector has increased almost six-fold from 2014 to 2018, according to Tech Nation 2019.
London is home to 758 AI companies – double the total of Paris and Berlin combined – specialising in industries such as insurance, finance and law.
