City Marque to launch Lambeth North units
The one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments are located in a brand new building on St George’s Road, with contemporary interiors.
Nightly rates go from £185 for the one bed to £240 for the two-bed deluxe, but can vary seasonally and according to the length of stay.
City Marque has been working on the building in tandem with the developer since December.
Further expansion
The brand aims to open 150 new units in 2014, and is currently in line with that goal, according to business development director Ian Daniels.
Another 50 to 100 new apartments should be launched in the next couple of years, and City Marque hopes to go from its current 200 to 550 units by 2017.
From opco to propco
City Marque currently operates under leases on all of its serviced apartments, but the firm hopes to start acquiring properties in the future.
“It’s about securing the pipeline for the operating company, and taking control of our own destiny. It would have been unthinkable two years ago,” Daniels told BigHospitality.
Created in 2009 as Boutique London Lets, the company underwent a rebranding last year, and has an international staff of nearly 80 people based in London and Manila, Philippines.
“Three years ago we decided to see if we could outsource our reservations there, and it was so successful that we ended up incorporating the company in the Philippines, so all calls and emails now go through Manila and are filtered down through the organisation.
“We like to think that’s a bit of a USP for us, and that’s enabled us to compete with the bigger players who have more resources than we do,” added Daniels.
Sector growth
The serviced apartment sector is going from strength to strength, with 1,276 units due to be created in 2014 – a 10 per cent growth largely led by the capital.
Traditional players are now facing competition from large hotel chains moving into the market, with IHG opening its second Staybridges Suites in Vauxhall in 2015 and Accor launching its Adagio brand in the UK in 2016.
