A leading UK property developer owned by the Pankhania family and specialising in Grade I and II listed buildings, announced on Monday (29) the completion of a Hampton by Hilton Hotel in London.
Acre Hotels, the hospitality arm of the Westcombe Group, was behind the £13 million property in Old Street, Shoreditch, east London.
With 35 permanent staff across its five floors, the hotel opened on Monday with facilities including a gym, a restaurant, a 24/7 menu available in its lobby bar and a conference room.
Westcombe Group is owned by the Pankhania family and was founded in 1975 by chairman Vraj Pankhania.
The development was led by CEO Kamal Pankhania and COO Sunil Pankhania.
It is the first time Westcombe Group has worked with Hampton by Hilton.
Vraj Pankhania
In a statement, the property developer noted the hotel’s unusual double basement design, in which two separate basements of five metres and 10 metres depth, respectively, were excavated.
“This called for unique problem solving while ensuring that a large amount of natural light still reached the basements, which contain meeting rooms, a gym, guest rooms and other state-of-the-art facilities,” the statement added.
“Through the development Westcombe Group also used adapted innovative secant piling, overlapping layers of material to ensure maximum water tightness and prevent leaks in the basement.”
The Pankhania family; Vraj (third from left) with his sons Kamal (second from left) and Sunil (second from right)
Kamal Pankhania said, “I’m proud to see the hotel open and taking in guests to enjoy our hard work. We are confident the hotel will serve its customers and the local community well. We’re delighted to have worked with as established a brand as Hampton by Hilton.”
Graham Dodd, managing director, development, UK & Ireland at Hilton, said, “We are delighted to partner with Westcombe Group on their first Hilton-branded hotel development, delivering a high-quality London hotel in this fantastic location.”
Westcombe said sustainability was at the heart of the build, which uses harvested rainwater in its systems and has a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.
