London's most iconic hotels could be sold off to Middle Eastern investors as the British capital becomes a 'luxury hotspot'

By TRAVELMAIL REPORTER


Iconic: Claridge's hotel in Mayfair could be snapped up by Middle East investors who are keen to own luxury UK brands


Some of London’s most iconic hotels could be sold to Middle Eastern investors who are keen to snap up luxury UK brands, according to a travel industry report.

Claridge’s, Grosvenor House, the Berkeley and the Connaught are all possible targets for foreign investment that could launch London as a new ‘luxury hotspot’.

The prediction is part of a WTM Global Trends Report, released at World Travel Market, an annual travel industry conference which is currently being held in London.

Caroline Bremner, a spokesperson for market research company Euromonitor International, which carried out the study, says: ‘The UK is ripe for investment from the Middle East with attractive property prices and the value of the pound.


Cutting edge: A Middle East consortium is behind the construction of the £2bn 'Shard of Glass' tower


‘We anticipate visitors from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the UK to increase significantly in the next four years.’

The Qatari royal family recently bought Harrods for £1.5bn and a Middle East consortium is behind the construction of the £2bn ‘Shard of Glass’ tower.

The 1000ft building near London Bridge will house offices, apartments and the first purpose-built five-star hotel to land on the London map in more than a decade.

The pound’s current weakness against the US dollar, coupled with the fact that Middle Eastern organisations are exempt from paying Stamp Duty and Capital Gains Tax, has led to an increase in investment in the UK from the region.

There are more than 400,000 millionaires in the Middle East, with a combined wealth of £950 billion.

Last year, Middle East visitors spent £810 million in the UK and the figure is expected to rise next year.

The UK Border Agency is expanding its Visa Application Centres in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Jeddah to cope with increased demand.

Meanwhile, London has been voted the ‘most welcoming’ European capital.
The city was voted the friendliest out of six major European capitals in a ‘mystery shopper’ poll.

London scored highly when it came to the quality of its bus tours, tourist offices, taxis and airport signage.

And, possibly to the surprise of those frequently held up by Tube delays, London got top marks for its city centre public transport.

However, it fared badly when it came to scoring airport tourist information and how welcoming its restaurants and museums were.

London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome and Berlin were subject to a 24-hour visit from mystery shoppers who rated the cities on the basis of the welcome given to visitors in 11 categories.

London came top, with Paris and Amsterdam joint second, Madrid fourth, Rome fifth and Berlin sixth.


source: dailymail