Marlin Apartments, leading owner-operator of serviced apartments in London, has tripled its revenue over the past five years due to high growth coming from both international and domestic relocations to London.
With London’s economy set to expand by 15% over the five years to 2019, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Marlin’s growth figures suggest the huge potential for continued maturity of the sector and for Marlin itself, as the business looks to open its seventh development in 2016.
51% growth in relocations to London since August 2013
Marlin’s growth figures show that relocations into the capital have increased a staggering 51% compared with August 2013 levels, with the average length of a relocation stay currently standing at 115 nights. The interest in London is reflected in PwC’s recent Cities of Opportunity index which lists London as the world leader in terms of economic influence, technology access, reputation as an urban gateway, and its development and design capabilities.
The appeal of London for these reasons has led to the city becoming a multicultural mecca, with The Office National Statistics revealing that a third of Londoners are actually born outside the UK. Marlin’s occupancy figures also illustrate the mix of origins of those who have relocated to London over this past year. This year’s top five growth markets – in terms of increases in relocation bookings – are:
- China – 51%
- Domestic – 49%
- India – 48%
- Europe – 45%
- Africa – 41%
China top for growth
China has topped Marlin’s growth list this year and is increasingly a key market for London business trips and relocations, with Marlin’s overall bookings from China having increased 108% over the past year. A staggering 40,000 people came to the UK last year from China, according to the Office of National Statistics, meaning that for the first time China is the source of more migrants to Britain than any other nation – and it indicated that this increase is partly due to the growing number of students coming from China to study in UK universities.
Closer to home, Marlin’s figures show London is the primary destination for domestic relocations from within the UK. The Office of National Statistics’ figures suggest this could be because those working in London earn more on average than UK employees overall and the London average real earnings fell less rapidly than the overall UK average from 2010 to 2012.
Great potential for serviced apartments
Susan Cully, Managing Director of Marlin Apartments said: “We know that London is one of the most mature serviced apartment markets in Europe, and is one of the strongest markets internationally. This represents great potential for serviced apartments, which currently stands at only around 6% of the accommodation in London.
“The mix of bookings coming into Marlin represents the breadth of business coming into the capital – from within the UK to Europe, developed markets and also emerging markets like India and Africa. The rise of international business into London means there is increasing demand for accommodation and the serviced apartments sector is aiming to fill it. We are excited to lead the way with our six – and soon-to-be seven – developments across the capital.”
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