Shangri-La Asia has committed GBP35 million ($510.23 million) to the opening of a 195-room hotel in London, which will mark its first investment in Europe.
Luxury hotel group and developer Sellar Property Group yesterday signed a 30-year lease contract for a Shangri-La hotel at London Bridge Tower - a 70-storey development planned for the south bank of the River Thames.
The project brings to an end Shangri-La's 10-year search for a prime site in London and will be its first in a string of European ventures. It was also looking at strategic destinations such as Paris and Frankfurt, a spokeswoman said.
Analysts said Shangri-La's branching out of its core Asia-Pacific market underlined a longstanding ambition to globalise its brand while capitalising on London's vibrant tourism and hospitality sector, where room rates and yields are much higher than in Hong Kong.
'We seek to develop properties in gateway capital cities that are key inbound markets to the guests of our properties in China and the Asia-Pacific region,' the spokeswoman said.
'At the same time, we are looking to open hotels in destination cities that are attractive to the rapidly growing outbound market - the Chinese market is increasingly on the move internationally and we want to be a step ahead, so that they can find their Shangri-La 'home away from home'.'
The project, due to open in 2009, will be the first newly built five-star hotel in central London in more than a decade.