THE UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Nordics are target areas for expansion for aparthotel operator Staycity, which will operate over 2,000 apartments by the end of 2016.
Speaking at the Serviced Apartment Summit in London, Staycity chief executive Tom Walsh said that many of the key European cities offered a healthy mix of business and leisure guests. This, coupled with a current undersupply of serviced apartments, has prompted the company to actively seek properties across Europe.
“These markets are very resilient in tough times and show impressive trading in good times so they are the obvious places to gain a foothold. The mix of business also suits the Staycity offer and gives us a balanced customer base,” said Walsh.
Dublin-based Staycity currently operates 1,000 apartments across eight European cities including Birmingham, Dublin, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London Heathrow, London Greenwich, Manchester, Paris and Amsterdam.
In March 2015 Staycity obtained in excess of €20m-worth of capital funding from Swedish investment firm Proventus Capital Partners, enabling it to accelerate expansion plans.
New Staycity apartments will open this year in Lyon and Birmingham Newhall Square with further openings next year in Marseille, Covent Garden and York. By the end of 2016 Staycity will have doubled in size.
“It’s an exciting time for Staycity. We are currently seeking properties across our key target markets and have a healthy ongoing development pipeline and a number of deals to be announced shortly,” he added.
