Tune Hotels announces further London expansion plans

Tune Group has announced that its newly-launched Canary Wharf location marks the start of a strategic push to boost its low-cost hospitality arm’s presence in London.

The 130-bedroom Tune Hotel Canary Wharf opened its doors this week, targeted at workers in the financial district, as well as individuals flying in and out of nearby London City Airport. Building on this momentum, Shoreditch will be the home of the sixth London Tune Hotel in 2016, while further openings are currently being finalised for what is expected to be a £40m investment in the capital.

“London is where we started in the United Kingdom and remains the heart of our expansion into the regions of the UK,” said Mark Lankester, group CEO of Tune Hotels Group.

“There is no foreseeable saturation point for Tune Hotels in London as the capital offers so many locations where our value for money concept would be welcomed by domestic and international travellers alike. For this reason, London will continue to form a crucial part of our overall UK plans for growth.”

The London-centric strategy follows hot on the heels of the announcement that the Group is to invest £200m into its low-cost hospitality arm as part of plans to open up to 25 new Tune Hotels in the UK by 2020.

The private investment group – helmed by entrepreneur and Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club owner Tony Fernandes – is eager to expand its hotel operations in the UK’s growing low-cost sector, which could serve as the springboard for a push into the European market. The no frills business model – similar to that of low-cost airline AirAsia that Fernandes co-founded – focuses on high quality beds and showers, with UK rooms starting from £25 a night.