Penta partners with Staycity on London aparthotel

Penta Real Estate is digging deeper into London, putting around €275 million into a 350-room Farringdon aparthotel with Staycity Group. Penta takes 80% of the joint venture and Staycity the other 20%. Morley House already has its permits, demolition of the old office building is under way, and completion is due in 2028, with 1,000 sqm of offices and a restoration of the City Temple church next door thrown in. The eleven-story building will trade under Staycity’s premium Wilde brand on a 30-year lease. A 30-year lease to an operator planning to more than double to 15,000 units by 2030 is about as bond-like as hospitality gets. It’s the first time the two have worked together, but JVs look like Penta’s preferred approach in London. A year ago it teamed up with Ballymore for more than 1,000 flats at Embassy Gardens, Canary Wharf and Brentford. London is clearly no one-off.