Liverpool a UK hotspot for new hotel investment, says Deloitte
Liverpool’s booming visitor economy has turned the city into a hotspot for hotel investment, a new study shows.
According to new research from Multinational professional services network, Deloitte, Liverpool is in the top 10 cities in the UK for hotel investment, based on a report compiled following a survey of more than 100 senior figures from the international hospitality sector.
The WOW! Suite at the Seel Street Hotel by EPIC in Liverpool
For more than a decade Liverpool city region’s visitor economy has been on an upward trajectory with a steady increase in both day and staying visitors. The sector is now worth almost £5bn every year.
This has offered a huge boost to the local hotel sector which has doubled in size in terms of capacity since the city celebrated its European Capital of Culture status in 2008. New hotels are continuing to open. Urbanista in Bold Street is set to open to guests this month and hotels are currently under construction in the Baltic Triangle and the Knowledge Quarter.
Across Europe, Amsterdam was ranked highest for the fourth consecutive year, with London falling behind Paris into third and Lisbon and Madrid rounding out the top five.
Despite the success of the regional cities, 68% of investors felt that Brexit made the regions less attractive for investment, with the majority also believing that revenues per available room will be negative or flat over the coming year.
This differs significantly to the state of the capital, with 42% of investors believing that London will not be affected by Brexit and 53% expecting positive revenues per available room growth.
Simon Bedford, partner and head of Deloitte Real Estate, said:
“While Liverpool is extremely attractive to investors, it is a very mixed position across the rest of the UK and one only has to scratch away at this surface to see thriving major cities and a struggle outside major financial centres.
“There are much larger variances in performance between markets in the regions, due to the pace of growth slowing down and the changing landscape of supply in key locations suppressing rates. While a weaker pound continues to support inbound and domestic leisure travel, the same cannot be said for corporate demand.”