{"id":4135,"date":"2025-10-02T17:07:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/second-home.uk\/?p=4135"},"modified":"2025-10-02T17:07:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T17:07:23","slug":"taking-berlin-style-hotelling-to-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/second-home.uk\/?p=4135","title":{"rendered":"Taking Berlin-style hotelling to London"},"content":{"rendered":"

While there\u2019s talk that London is not as attractive as it once was, a German-based firm is making its mark on the capital. PropertyWire talks to Robert Stafler of AMANO UK and Manex Properties<\/em>, after it acquired a site for \u00a320 million<\/a> that will become its second hotel in the heart of the UK capital.<\/p>\n

\u201cBerlin flair\u201d is a phrase that\u2019s been used to describe the vision from AMANO, which owns 14 hotels across Germany. The company acquired Drury House in London\u2019s Covent Garden in 2018, which was converted from office blocks into a hotel and began operating in 2022.<\/p>\n

Now the company is doing it again, after spending \u00a320 million to buy Waterman House, a building situated 50 yards from the first development at Aldwych & Kingsway.<\/p>\n

So what is Berlin flair? \u201cDark and moody \u2013 it\u2019s not white shiny marble,\u201d explains Robert Stafler, director of AMANO UK and Manex Properties. \u201cOf the 14 hotels in Germany the first five were in Berlin, so it\u2019s a Berlin concept that\u2019s exported to German cities as well as London.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berlin is known for its legendary nightlife, so the hotels look to bring some flair.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Saturday night there were three parties,\u201d Stafler explains, referring to the Covent Garden location. \u201cEach one had its distinct flair. This Saturday we had a Greek DJ playing Greek music and bringing his following. Also there was a Russian DJ and salsa night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manex Properties and Drury House \u2013 the first London development<\/h3>\n

Hotel AMANO Covent Garden <\/p>\n

Manex Properties is the company name for AMANO and Excellion Capital in partnership, with the name taking the \u2018Man\u2019 from AMANO and \u2018Ex\u2019 from Excellion.<\/p>\n

Stafler co-founded Excellion as an investment firm with Raffael Johnen in London in 2007, and the company brings financial expertise to help the German-based AMANO invest and operate in the UK.<\/p>\n

The board of Manex Properties is led by a combination of teams from Germany and London, including Stafler.<\/p>\n

The linkup was established ahead of the 2018 acquisition of Drury House in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cAMANO until 2018 never had a hotel in London,\u201d Stafler explains. \u201cSo we formed this idea, why don\u2019t we bring the AMANO hotels to London?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said \u2018let\u2019s make it happen, you are going to make sure we have the correct licenses\u2019. This was the beginning of the partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018\/19 they were granted planning permission for the conversion of Drury House into a hotel.<\/p>\n

Office tenants had to depart, after which the roof was removed, two floors were built, and the roof was replaced, leaving the building with seven floors above ground.<\/p>\n

It started operating in 2022 as the effects of the pandemic started to die down.<\/p>\n

The location has 141 rooms with occupancy between 90-95% every year, which has given them confidence.<\/p>\n

\t <\/p>\n

\u201cIf every room is always busy you back yourself to do another 70 rooms in that location,\u201d Stafler adds.<\/p>\n

Waterman House \u2013 the second London development<\/h3>\n

Waterman House <\/p>\n

Stafler and co have been working on the acquisition of Waterman House for the past 10 months, owing to the complexity of the transaction.<\/p>\n

The seller was Regal Hotels, a large company that operates with three listed entities on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The transaction required regulatory approval, a range of paperwork, and shareholder approval.<\/p>\n

The \u00a320m purchase was funded out of equity, because using a bank would have made things trickier due to the complicated nature of the seller. According to Stafler, the fact that the company didn\u2019t need a bank meant they were able to close the deal with a lower offer than a competitor.<\/p>\n

AMANO UK\/Manex Properties considered buying Waterman House in 2018, before settling on purchasing Drury House.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at buying this as a package as they are on the same street,\u201d Stafler explains.\u201cAt the time we said focus on one first, if somebody else buys Waterman House so be it. Our vendor bought the asset in 2019 because we decided not to buy it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t do anything with it; it\u2019s derelict, closed, there were squatters in the building. There were all sorts of issues with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the purchase has been completed the derelict nature of the building can be viewed as an advantage, as there are no tenants to evict before carrying out the conversion, so work can start quickly.<\/p>\n

Given the close proximity of the two sites, the plan is to have an overlap of staff in both buildings.<\/p>\n

Why London has potential<\/h3>\n

While a number of businesses are taking a more cautious approach to London investment, Stafler thinks that now is a real opportunity for investing in hotels in major cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness travel is coming back and tourism is very high,\u201d he says. \u201cIn Asia you have a billion people who until this decade never had this disposable income to travel abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat billion people will all come to London, Tokyo, Paris, New York: There are certain cities that will have an influx.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany Americans have never travelled outside. Now after covid many say I don\u2019t want to die without seeing London, Paris.<\/p>\n

Historically it\u2019s been common for Americans to go without passports, but applications surged after covid, both for US and secondary passports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think tourism to London will continue to be strong. Nightlife in the West End is where people want to be because it\u2019s shit hot!\u201d Stafler adds with excitement.<\/p>\n

AMANO UK\/Manex Properties have achieved planning approval for Waterman House, and the aim is for the hotel to be operational by the second half of 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While there\u2019s talk that London is not as attractive as it once was, a German-based firm is making its mark on the capital. PropertyWire talks to Robert Stafler of AMANO UK and Manex Properties, after it acquired a site for \u00a320 million that will become its second hotel in the heart of the UK capital. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-second-home"],"yoast_head":"\nTaking Berlin-style hotelling to London - Second Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertywire.com\/news\/taking-berlin-style-hotelling-to-london\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Taking Berlin-style hotelling to London - Second Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While there\u2019s talk that London is not as attractive as it once was, a German-based firm is making its mark on the capital. 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