Elegance, luxury brands and the property market…? Unlikely bed partners…? Or so we thought....
As we have all no doubt noticed, the UK luxury property market itself is dominated by a handful of the usual suspects company-wise in new builds e.g. Millgate, Octagon, Antler, Newcourt, Vanderbilt, etc. Occasional privately held developments dot the landscape. Older luxury properties are readily available for purchase via one of the established luxury estate agents, e.g. Savills, Fine & Country, Sothebys, Knight Frank, etc.
Indeed, sometimes we hear about luxury brands vying for position over the latest Regent Street lease available. And then we often see stories in the press about how much wealthy Chinese investors love to acquire luxury UK property (whatever its source), whilst feeding their insatiable desire for luxury brands in general…whether it be from Cartier, Louis Vuitton through to Lamborghini.
But when was the last time we actually saw luxury brands actually getting involved with property development itself directly? Aside from private villas by Sofitel, Hilton and some other hotel chains, it has happened in the past, although the terms ‘blue moon’ and ‘month of Sundays’ spring to mind....
How very strange then that the UK’s current most notable current exception comes not from Regent Street in London - but Hatfield, just outside Doncaster in Yorkshire, UK in the form of the Tyram Lakes Eco Hotel, Spa & Resort.
Rothgen Capital UK announced its latest funding round for The Tyram Lakes Hotel, Spa & Resort a couple of months ago, and is already making significant progress. As an area, Doncaster has been attracting new attention from global media sources, and there appears to be little slowing of this trend.
Doncaster is, of course, known for its immense horse racing heritage, but also for its attractive geography as a centre point in the UK, as recently acknowledged by Asda, Amazon, IKEA, Tesco, Lidl, BMW et al. These brand entities are all utilising the convenient geographical location for their large distribution centres, plus Doncaster’s obvious proximity to significant transport and travel networks – this including Doncaster Sheffield (formerly Robin Hood) airport. Other newsworthy items include the recent announcement by the nearby Yorkshire Wildlife Park that it will start its £50m expansion soon, making it potentially a top UK tourist destination.
The luxury sector appears to have noted that location is everything. All of these factors have now become instrumental in making the proposition attractive enough for significant luxury brands to become involved with the Tyram Lakes Eco Hotel, Spa & Resort. A rarity indeed....
The centrepiece of the resort is the planned boutique hotel designed by Den Architecture with help from Baca Architects, who are specialists in luxury, eco-friendly and amphibious projects. The hotel has an otherworldly specification, and will offer 104 bedrooms, conference facilities, a fine dining restaurant, lakeside views, an indoor pool, leisure club, spa, gymnasium, and a top drawer wedding and party venue.
…And then come the luxury lodges ....some of them floating!
There are two types of eco-lodges at the site. Just over 100 of them are scheduled to be floating structures, and a further 200 will be nestled in the sizeable woodlands. In various sizes, these provide clients with private hideaways with natural spaces all around, and include rooftop gardens, decking areas with sunken spa baths, and interiors to match.
"The scale and ambitious nature of the plans will ensure the resort is one the most luxurious, fun and relaxing holiday destinations in Europe. This green development will be as sustainable as it’s currently possible to build, and be exemplary case study for other developers," says Baca Associate, Andrew Scrace.
Surprising then that ARMANI should get involved? Hmmm…well, not really.....
The floating lodges in particular have been attracting a lot of media attention of late, and ARMANI have decided to capture these for its own using its ARMANI ROCA brand for bathrooms which encapsulates ergonomic yet luxurious thinking into attractive design. When adding this to their famous ARMANI CASA brand for other aspects of the interior design (such as bedroom décor), one tends to end up with a thing of beauty indeed. It can be that luxury has been truly exemplified by the fixtures and fittings featured in the designs here.
Surprising then that BOLON of Sweden should show up? Hmmm…again, not really.....
Top-of-the-range luxury lodges should really have top-of-the-range flooring. With cutting edge projects globally, BOLON quality shines though blending feel with durability in highly intelligent manufacturing. Even Missoni seem to think so too.....
So, what about Chesneys of London? Surely not…? Well, actually…yes. Best known for their luxury fireplaces, wood burning stoves and gas appliances, Chesneys are tasked with keeping visitors snug and warm when necessary. Seeing Tyram Lakes as a great way to further showcase their abilities in ever eco-friendlier times, Chesneys have also chosen to join the throng.
And why then would Cosentino be involved?
A frequent participant at Milan Design Week, Cosentino are held in high regard in the wonderful world of amazing surfaces within the interior design space. Many of these are extremely high-tech with extraordinary properties which make them the ideal fit for the Tyram Lakes luxury lodges.
Surprising then that.....ok, ok. Enough.
Suffice to say that others of note include: Hansgrohe, Dekton, Egger, SilentGliss, Sunbury, and Rachel McLane, all renowned in the luxury space.....
In keeping with the Property/Real Estate and the Luxury Sector theme, let’s not forget the Wyndham Hotel Group - the largest in the world, involved through Hoseasons whom they own, and who are handling the rental side of the business.
Ok, ok. Really, enough now.
In other news, Natural England are also partnered with Tyram, who have a sizeable park neighbouring the Lakes, and who also have given complimentary access for Tyram Lakes visitors, enabling yet more acres for hiking, trails, and exploration. It is because of this and other factors that the Wyndham Hotel Group (via its well-known brand Hoseasons), believe that Tyram can become a flagship park to sit within the Hoseasons Portfolio. The latter have provided projected rental incomes and occupancy levels to back this up showing strong returns, thus providing evidential balance sheet background for those wishing to invest. Various financial vehicles are available too, professionally designed and implemented by the Accounting Worx Group.
So, to summarise, it is indeed a rarity to see so many top luxury brands involved with luxury property projects, and they continue to arrive as the months go by. Perhaps a significant trend for the future…?
