OYO plans to invest €40 mn in U.K.

OYO Hotels plans to invest €40 million in the U.K. to expand its presence in 10 cities in the county in the next 18 months, said a press statement on Wednesday.

It will start operations with four properties in London that offer more than 80 rooms and by 2020, OYO plans to hire 100 people across the U.K. and host guests in over 5,000 rooms. This is the firm’s first market beyond Asia. The cities include Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. “The U.K. has been the topmost international travel destination for several years and last year hosted over 19 million tourists from around the world,” OYO CEO Ritesh Agarwal said.

“Driven by its booming domestic and international travel and budget hospitality needs, the U.K. presents a multi-billion dollar opportunity for OYO,” he said.

The U.K. business will be led by British entrepreneur Jeremy Sanders, who co-founded the British restaurant chain, Coco di Mama. “Over the next year, they will aim to build out the team by hiring an additional 100,” people across the country, he said.

OYO will offer guests the OYO Townhouse experience —- suited for the needs of millennial travellers, aspiring for high-quality

accommodations. These properties will be operated under models of manchise, lease with full inventory control similar to other markets like India and China.

OYO is backed by leading investors, including the SoftBank Group, Greenoak Capital, Sequoia India, Lightspeed India, Hero Enterprise and China Lodging Group.