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Penta Real Estate and Staycity Group have formed a £230M-plus joint venture to develop a 350-room aparthotel in Farringdon.
The JV, which will be split 80-20 in favour of Penta, will redevelop the Morley House site near Holborn Viaduct, delivering an 11-storey aparthotel under Staycity's Wilde brand. Construction is expected to start very soon, following demolition of the existing office building, with completion targeted for 2029, the companies said.
The project will be Penta's first joint venture with Staycity and follows its £1B partnership with Ballymore to deliver more than 1,000 homes across three London locations.
For Staycity, it will be its seventh London property and its second large-scale Wilde development in the capital, following the opening of its Paddington property in 2021. The group said its London development pipeline has a gross development value of approximately £700M.
Staycity acquired the Morley House site in 2025, and Altius Real Estate, which secured planning permission, will act as development manager.
The scheme will combine 350 serviced apartment rooms with commercial office space and the refurbishment of the Grade II-listed City Temple Church, while the ground floor will feature a café, bar and coworking lounge open to the public.
“Farringdon has long been a centre for culture and design, a hub for London's food scene, and a prime location for offices, making it a very strong location for a Wilde aparthotel,” Staycity Managing Director of Real Estate Development Barry Hickey said in a statement, adding that the Morley House scheme was the group's largest transaction to date.
The deal comes after the capital recorded £1.4B of hotel transactions in the first half of 2026, compared with £3B for the whole of 2025, according to Savills' September hotel market report. London accounted for 24% of European hotel investment volumes in the first half, making it the continent's largest market.
Recent transactions include Generali Real Estate's acquisition of the 203-room Novotel London Tower Bridge from Ares Management and EQ Group in June, marking the Italian investor's first UK hotel purchase.
In October, hotel-hostel operator Generator acquired the 151-room Novotel London Greenwich from Ares and EQ, with plans to rebrand it and introduce a mix of private and shared accommodation.
MCR Property Group also acquired the leasehold interest in the 331-bed Safestay London Kensington Holland Park, with plans for a multimillion-pound refurbishment.
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