The first new London property, the 202-room Novotel Brentford, has already opened under a lease agreement with Brentford Hotels Ltd, a subsidiary of the Pedersen Group, bringing the total number of hotels operated under the mid-scale Novotel brand in the UK to 31.
The second new London hotel will be the Mercure London Heathrow, which will open next Spring under a franchise agreement with Crimson Hotels Limited.
The hotel, located close the international airport, is being upgraded as part of a multi-million pound refurbishment programme to bring it into line with the 4-star Mercure brand and will target both business and leisure travellers.
The remaining three hotels will fall under Accor’s economy Ibis brand.
The Ibis Styles Kensington will open in London later this year under a franchise agreement with Chatteris Kensington Ltd, a subsidiary of the Singapore-based Heeton Group. Accor said the 115-bedroom Victorian hotel was undergoing ‘extensive renovation ’to upgrade its infrastructure and restore period features.
The second two Ibis hotels will open in Edinburgh in the summer. The 161-bedroom Ibis Budget Edinburgh Park will open within walking distance to the Scottish capital’s business park, while the 103-bedroom Ibis Styles St Andrew Square will open in the heart of the city.
Thomas Dubaere, managing director, Accor UK & Ireland said: “These openings further strengthen our presence in the key business and leisure locations of London and Edinburgh and are another important step in expanding our UK network.
“As part of our ambitious expansion plans we are demonstrating our commitment to strengthening the portfolio across our budget and midscale brand segments.”
UK expansion
Accor has gone from strength to strength since splitting its business in two to optimise business performance last year.
The latest financial results from the group revealed a 2.8 per cent growth in first half revenues on a like-for-like basis, with ‘strong trading’ by its UK properties helping boost profits in Q2 2014.
In April, the group revealed plans to upgrade three existing Mercure hotels in Windsor, Cheltenham and Aberdeen and bring them into its upscale MGallery Collection, and renovate a further six Mercure hotels across the UK to establish them as ‘flagship hotels’ for its four-star brand.
It has also announced plans to open a second UK hotel under its luxury Pullman brand at Liverpool’s Kings Dock next summer, and will open a new build Novotel at London's Canary Wharf in 2016.