The Lalit Suri group of luxury hotels, which is part of Bharat Hotels Ltd, has announced plans to invest around £28 million in a heritage project in London. This is an old building that will be restored and converted into a luxury boutique hotel. There are also plans for four further luxury hotels in India and a number of mid-market properties that will be developed within the next five years.
The company has been looking to invest in London for a while, but the right property never came along. Hotel occupancy rates in the city have been consistently high for a while and it makes sense to invest here.
The new hotel is to be named The Lalit London and will be a four star property with 70 luxury rooms. Work on the project is due to begin in March 2013 and the hotel will be open before the end of 2014. The company aims to begin its London expansion in a fairly small way rather than begin with a much larger property.
The company owns property mainly in India, but this new addition will be the third of its overseas projects. The company has already invested in luxury hotels in Dubai and Thailand, but development on both of these has slowed. India will continue to be the company’s main market and there will be new properties opening in cities such as Amritsar and Pune, as India has been earmarked as having strong potential for growth in tourism over the next few years.
Author – Anna Biggs