The sentiment among United Kingdom hotel insiders is that 2025 was a relatively satisfactory year for hotel transactions, value and volume, and 2026 would probably bring more of the same.
But behind this optimism — never too far from the front of mind of hoteliers — was the notion we are living in curious times.
The first week of 2026 has brought some strange news stories that I think no one would have guessed would be coming as we toasted our loved ones with champagne on Dec. 31.
Three developments I thought would not happen are Venezuela, Greenland, and the U.K. government U-turn on pub business rates.
I did think my beloved West Ham United would not win any games over the holidays, and that came true.
London is one hotel market that is steaming ahead in 2026. It is not a market ever to dismiss, and some of the new hotel acquisition deals were squeezed into the last week of 2025 as investors raced to reach their full-year numbers and perhaps their bonuses?
In the last few days, my email account has been hissing with news.
RIU Hotels & Resorts acquired the 494-room The Westminster, Curio Collection by Hilton — already renamed the Hotel RIU Plaza London The Westminster — from BHP, PPF Real Estate and Westmont Hospitality for £290 million ($390 million) or £587,000 per key.
The hotel is within a cricket-ball delivery from Horseferry House, Westminster Green and the Houses of Parliament. It is a prime site, and prime sites in London will always be sought after.
I — and my colleagues who write for CoStar News on non-hotel transactions — have been inundated over the last few days with emails, news releases and on- and off-the-record telephone conversations concerning London hotel transactions.
Long may that last; well, as long as a bubble is avoided, which does not seem to be the case in the capital traditionally.
Another significant deal is IGB Corp. Berhad’s sale of the 732-room St. Giles London Hotel for £220 million, or approximately £300,000 per key. That hotel is just north of the junction of Oxford and Tottenham streets and a very short walk from the British Museum. It's another example of prime London real estate.
My CoStar News colleague Paul Norman reported that Punta Na, the investment firm of the family that owns fashion brand Mango, acquired the 192-bed W Hotel London Leicester Square for £260 million from Qatari firm Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Co.
When I was a child, Leicester Square was London, or at least one had to walk through it to reach anywhere we wanted to go. Back then, our usual destination was the Intrepid Fox (long gone) and St. Mortiz (extant) pubs on Wardour St.
In total, these three London hotel deals have seen £770 million being transacted, or more than $1 billion, and we are only seven or so days into the new year.
Yes, when the cash registers stop ringing, some of this capital might be placed in the fourth quarter 2025 box. But in a city where huge events with international attendance go virtually unnoticed, this is a very big ripple that might see a very boisterous upcoming 12 months.
If we can keep up, and we will, CoStar will continue keeping you informed of the giddy details.
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford,” et cetera, et cetera.
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