Indian hotel chain Oyo eyes UK expansion

20 September 2018 by
Indian hotel chain Oyo eyes UK expansion

Indian hotel chain Oyo is eying UK expansion with two London hotels in Paddington and Ilford already in operation.

Founded by chief executive Ritesh Agarwal in 2013, the company has earmarked £40m to expand the budget Oyo franchise in Britain, with plans to launch in 10 cities over the next 18 months, particularly targeting Birmingham, London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The group has appointed Jeremy Sanders, former chief executive and co-founder of the Coco di Mama restaurant chain, to lead its UK operations.

OYO Hotels partners with small-scale hoteliers to transform their service through technology such as apps and intelligent technologies developed for both consumers and owners. Properties will be operated under models of franchise, manchise and lease with full inventory control.

Agarwal said: "Oyo Hotels has been the forefront of the small and budget hotels revolution in India, China, Malaysia and Nepal. The UK is one of the world's most visited countries, and so we are thrilled to now be able to offer OYO's affordable, hassle-free and quality living experiences to guests across the UK. Our countries have strong ties and we are pleased to be partnering with UK hoteliers to help them generate increased, sustainable incomes. "

Sanders added: "I am very excited to be leading Oyo's expansion into
the UK. As we've experienced in Asia, we are confident that our bespoke technology and operational expertise brings real value to hotel owners and customers alike."

Oyo currently has properties across 230 Indian cities as well as hotels in Malaysia and Nepal, and last year launched its Townhouse managed hotel brand. The company is backed by investors including the SoftBank Vision Fund, Greenoak Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.

Get The Caterer every week on your smartphone, tablet, or even in good old-fashioned hard copy (or all three!).

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking