More than 200 new hotels are planned for London, with investors enticed by tourist numbers and the weaker pound, research showed on Monday.
Of the 210 hotels that have planning permission, or on which construction has started, almost a quarter, 48, are in the Westminster borough.
Projects under way include Qatari Diar working on transforming the former American Embassy on Grosvenor Square into a 137-bedroom luxury hotel that will feature restaurants, shops and a ballroom.
Law firm Boodle Hatfield, which compiled the data, said that the UK’s hotels market is one of the few sectors of the British economy hereto have benefited from the Brexit-related slump in sterling.
That has made it cheaper for international tourists to visit and encouraged more “staycations”.
The study also pointed to it being less expensive for overseas buyers to invest here.
Rajeev Joshi, partner at Boodle Hatfield, said: “For tourism to continue to grow, the UK needs to ensure that post-Brexit, we do not start to be seen as a less convenient destination for tourists from the European Union or from further afield.”
He added that: “Greater investment in infrastructure will be a key part of this.”
The delayed Crossrail project is expected to bring significantly more shoppers into central London when it opens.
