Last year, 2019, was a year of political suspense in Europe, continued break-neck development in the Middle East and persistent hesitation in Africa. The biggest news items of the last six months were probably Boris Johnson's landslide victory and him getting Brexit done (Phase 1 anyway), and the hushed birth of a new coronavirus.

Brexit uncertainty issues in 2019 had diverging effects in the UK. On the one hand, Regional UK markets fell back, whilst on the other, London recorded the highest occupancy in the whole EMEA region and grew its RevPAR yet again. Elsewhere, Amsterdam faltered slightly, Paris suffered from gilets jaunes and Milan continued its transmutation into a popular tourist destination. But the star performers of 2019 were Cairo, Istanbul (both still very much in recovery mode) and Riyadh.

Looking forward to the new decade, construction trends in the Middle East are showing signs of a possible slow down as the chunky pipelines of the region reach their climax, especially in Dubai for Expo 2020 and in Qatar for FIFA World Cup 2022.

As highlighted at our 15th annual New Year Hotel Investment Summit in January 2020, the volume of deals in 2019 was well down on 2018, but the range of countries witnessing deals grew extensively. Most notably, for the first time in many years, Greece recorded a good number of transactions, from Athens to Corfu.

"London recorded the highest occupancy in the whole EMEA region and grew its RevPAR yet again."

With grateful thanks to our contributing valuers, we are pleased to present our sixth consecutive annual Consensus Yield Matrix as our back page feature.

About WhiteBridge Hospitality

Whitebridge Hospitality is a specialist advisor to investors, developers and operators in the hospitality industry around the globe. We provide investment, operational and planning advice, and guidance in respect of the entire hospitality spectrum, including: hotels, mixed-use developments, conference and exhibition centres, spas, leisure facilities, casinos, visitor attractions and sporting venues. Our uniquely qualified team can provide services throughout an asset's life cycle, from site selection and acquisition, through master planning and feasibility studies, to operator selection, operational and asset strategy advice, to sale and agency services.

Philip Camble
Director
+44 20 7195 1482
Whitebridge Hospitality