Why Savvy Turkish Investors Are Eyeing UK Hotels Right Now

When Ankara businessmen sit down for coffee in Nişantaşı these days, the conversation is drifting westward—to London, to Manchester, to the string of spa towns that pepper England’s southern coast. Every week at Rivias Global we field more questions from Turkish investors who have spent the last decade accumulating domestic assets and now, spurred by a shifting political and monetary landscape at home, are repositioning capital in the United Kingdom. The target isn’t the usual pied‑à‑terre or single high‑street shop. It’s hotels—often mid‑sized, sometimes boutique, occasionally flagged by a major brand—assets with sterling cash flow, tangible bricks and mortar, and nightly rates that can be repriced as fast as inflation moves.

The logic is straightforward. A hotel’s income, unlike a long lease on a retail block, resets constantly. Rooms turn over every evening; conference halls and wedding suites can lift the bottom line without adding square footage. When the lira slides, a London or Manchester RevPAR denominated in pounds looks even more attractive in relative terms. Add to that the fact that regional hotel values in Britain have not fully recovered to their pre‑pandemic EBITDA multiples, and Turkish buyers sense a window. We are seeing privately held properties—especially those in need of cosmetic upgrades—change hands at yields that institutional funds deem too small to bother with. For the entrepreneur used to navigating Istanbul’s competitive real‑estate market, negotiating a deal in Birmingham or Leeds can feel refreshingly transparent: title searches, clean data rooms, a lending market still willing to fund 60 per cent of purchase and renovation costs.

Capital controls are part of the backdrop. Moving wealth into a hard‑currency jurisdiction has become a form of risk management, yet most clients still want a story they can walk through, renovate, touch, and exit cleanly if policy winds shift again. A hotel satisfies that instinct. It carries a brand (or the potential to create one), it benefits from the UK’s deep tourism base, and it can be packaged for an eventual sale to a REIT once the asset is stabilised. Moreover, hospitality footprints dovetail neatly with migration patterns: relatives studying at British universities, frequent‑flier routes on Turkish Airlines, and children who may one day want an operational business rather than a purely passive holding.

Of course, the attraction is not purely financial. Operating a hotel in Britain carries social cachet; it is easier to communicate to partners back home than a complex mezzanine position in a logistics fund. Still, returns remain the driver, and those returns depend on hard work during due diligence. A historic townhouse in Bath can be gorgeous, but if the EPC rating is subpar the renovation budget will skyrocket. A Manchester city‑centre block may boast stellar occupancies, but a weak management contract can erase margins. This is where local knowledge matters. At Rivias Global we pair Turkish capital with seasoned UK operators who understand both leisure‑weekend surges and midweek corporate demand. In practice that means pre‑negotiated management agreements, transparent fee splits, and renovation schedules that cater to high‑season cash flow rather than suppressing it.

Timing also favours first‑movers. Specialist lenders, though cautious, remain hungry for hotel deals under fifty million pounds—especially when buyers bring foreign‑exchange liquidity and a credible track record. Yet supply is thinning. Many distressed owners patched holes during lockdowns with government grants and short‑term bridging loans. Those facilities roll off soon, and the best stock is likely to move quickly over the next twelve months.

The short version is simple: Turkish investors looking for hotels in the UK are no longer dabbling; they are executing. With sterling revenue, flexible pricing power, and an exit market that welcomes stabilized boutique assets, hospitality delivers a hedge wrapped in a tangible brand story. If you are evaluating whether now is the moment to shift capital out of Turkey and into a durable, income‑producing British asset, start with a detailed look at hotels. We stand ready to open the right doors—from off‑market coastal retreats to business‑class city properties—before the next wave of capital does. Drop me a line if you want to see our live pipeline or discuss how a Manchester or south‑coast acquisition might sit alongside your existing portfolio back home.