City Developments Limited (CDL), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Copthorne Hotel Holdings Limited, has completed the acquisition of the 706-room Holiday Inn London - Kensington High Street for £280 million or £396,600 per room.
The freehold hotel is located close to Kensington High Street and is a 15-minute walk from Olympia London, which is nearing completion of its £1.3 billion redevelopment.
The hotel has achieved high occupancy rates of over 97 per cent for the nine months to September 2025, and in recent years, has consistently outperformed its competitive set. Total revenue for the preceding 12 months exceeded £39 million and the hotel is expected to generate a running yield of over 6 per cent.
With this acquisition, the Group will enhance its presence in Central London with a portfolio of over 3,000 hotel rooms. This includes The Biltmore Mayfair (307 rooms), Millennium Hotel London Knightsbridge (222 rooms), Millennium Gloucester Hotel London (611 rooms), The Bailey’s Hotel London Kensington (212 rooms), The Chelsea Harbour Hotel and Spa (158 rooms), and Copthorne Tara Hotel London Kensington (833 rooms). The Millennium Hotel London Knightsbridge is slated to commence renovation and this is expected to be completed in 2026.
This selective acquisition in London aligns with the Group’s strategy of investing in rare, value-creation opportunities that enhance its portfolio quality and create long-term shareholder value, alongside the further easing of interest rates in the UK.
What they said
Mr Kwek Leng Beng, CDL’s Executive Chairman, said, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to secure an ultra-prime freehold site in Central London. Freehold sites in this location are exceptionally scarce, and it is even rarer to find one directly adjacent to our Copthorne Tara hotel. With this acquisition, the Group will now own two of the largest freehold sites in London’s most affluent Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.”