'Apart-hotel' makes buy to let comeback

Apart-hotels', where investors could buy individual rooms which would be managed and let out by a hotel, appear to be making a comeback.

They became popular in the burgeoning buy to let market in the three years before the downturn but then fell off investors' radar as maket conditions worsened. Now the concept is being resuscitated in the budget hotel market with a £10.6m development in Burnley.

Apartel Burnley, from commercial property specialists Group First, is a development of 134 one-bed suites' which can be rented for a single night to a 12-month term.

The firm calls the suites capsules' and claims each will have a smart TV, heating, Lutron lighting with iPhone controls, a double bed, kitchen area, workspace and washer dryer.

Group First claims the design will work as a student let, business commuter crash pad, starter flat or an affordable alternative to budget hotel chains. Costs to tenants will be from around £150 a week, with a sliding price scale depending on length of stay.

The Burnley building will have a 24-hour concierge service, 60 free parking spaces, a communal gym, Costa coffee shop and outdoor area.

We identified a gap in the market for an investment engine that gave consumers the flexibility they crave. The beauty really is in the flexibility at every stage - from who can stay there, to how long and even down to multiple income streams for investors claims Group First managing director Toby Whittaker.

He says two more Apartel sites will be announced in the new year.