The company, which is overseen by Thomas Dubaere in the UK, plans to open a 310-bedroom Novotel at 40 Marsh Wall, Canary Wharf by mid-2015 which it will own and operate.
Edinburgh hotels
Accor has also acquired the freehold of a property on St Andrews Square in Edinburgh which it plans to open as a 103-bedroom hotel under its Ibis Styles brand in the second half of next year.
The other two Edinburgh properties, which are both leasehold, are located at Edinburgh Park and at SoCo Edinburgh, a re-development of an area in the the city's Old Town between South Bridge and the Cowgate. Both hotels will open under the Ibis brand and will open in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Dubaere, managing director, Accor UK & Ireland said despite the company's target to become 'asset light' and operate 80 per cent of its hotels under franchise by the end of 2016, it still planned to take advantage of opportunities in key locations.
“Our investment in these four new hotels, two of which we will own and manage, is another step in our strategy to build on our leadership position and further grow Accor’s presence in the UK," he said.
"It is also part of our flexible active asset management plan. While we are focused on reducing our portfolio’s capital intensity, we have the financial strength to invest in owned assets, for key locations and flagship hotels for our brands.”
Accor, which last week announced it would be making changes to the structure of the management of its European business from January next year, currently operates 188 hotels in the UK and says it is on target to operate 300 by 2015.
The hotel company operates hotels in the UK under the Ibis, Ibis Budget, Ibis Styles, Novotel, Mercure, MGallery, Pullman and Sofitel brands.