Acting for Irish developer McAleer & Rushe, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels is pleased to announce the signing of a 40 year lease with Starwood Hotels and Resorts to introduce the “W” brand to the UK for the first time. Construction of the £ 200 million project on London’s Leicester Square has commenced, with completion expected by mid 2010.
The 5 star W London-Leicester Square will include 194 rooms and suites, 10 two-level luxury branded residences, bars, restaurant, spa and fitness centre. The development will also feature some 35,000 square feet of ground floor and basement retail and leisure space.
Located in the heart of London’s West End Theatre District, Leicester Square has traditionally been known more for its theatre ticket touts and mid market hotels than for luxury 5 star hotels. However, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels advised McAleer & Rushe on the substantially enhanced value that a luxury lifestyle brand would deliver to a new hotel in Leicester Square.
Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Senior Vice President Chris Martin, who along with colleague Michelle Webb negotiated the deal with Starwood, commented: “While a Leicester Square location does not suit traditional 5 star hotel brands, this was the perfect location for a 5 star lifestyle brand such as W. In international terms, this is as close a match to the highly successful W New York-Times Square location as you could get. We are very pleased to have now delivered on the advice we gave McAleer & Rushe when they acquired the site, securing for them a long term indexed lease with a very high quality tenant."