PPHE Hotel Group buys London apartments to offer staff discounted rents

The owner of Park Plaza UK hotels has made the first in a number of potential apartment block purchases in London, where it will offer staff heavily discounted rents.

PPHE Hotel Group’s finance chief Daniel Kos said: “We are aware there could be an exodus of European staff once Britain leaves the EU, so we are trying to think of ways to attract and retain hospitality workers.”

He added: “One method is by providing cheap rents for nice accommodation.”

The firm has acquired a property in Chiswick with room for around 30 people, who will commute to PPHE’s South bank hotels. More London staff digs are being considered.

PPHE’s comparable revenue per room rose 7.5% to £93.04 in the first half.

On a like-for-like basis, total revenue increased by 6.3% to £155.2 million

The firm, which has a £1.7 billion property portfolio, expects the full-year performance to be in line with previous forecasts.