MCR Property Group launches The Kensington Collection as first standalone hospitality brand

MCR Property Group has launched The Kensington Collection, its first standalone hospitality brand, bringing together boutique hotel rooms and serviced apartments across four of West London’s most established addresses.

The collection comprises Ashburn Hotel and Ashburn Court in Kensington, Chesham Court in Belgravia and Claverley Court in Knightsbridge. Together, they offer short and extended stays built around a simple proposition: the privacy and space of a London residence, supported by discreet hotel service.

One brand. Four London addresses.

The easy option would have been to place the properties beneath the MCR corporate identity. It would also have been the wrong one.

The Kensington Collection has been created as a distinct consumer brand with its own proposition, visual identity, website, booking journey and tone of voice. It sits independently in the market because guests are choosing a place to stay, not a property company.

The launch has been delivered at acquisition speed. MCR’s in-house marketing team and hospitality operation have had a matter of weeks to establish the brand foundations, build the initial digital experience, organise the booking proposition and begin a programme of physical improvement across the portfolio.

That work is already visible at Ashburn Court, where renovation and restyling of the penthouse apartment has begun. The apartment introduces a warmer, more residential design language, combining generous living space with richer materials, considered lighting, modern artwork and the practical comforts required for longer London stays.

Built in weeks, designed for the long term

Tom Booth, Marketing Director at MCR Property Group, said:

“The easy thing would have been to force these properties under the MCR name. That would have been strategically lazy. Guests are buying a London stay, not a property group.

“The Kensington Collection therefore needed its own proposition, identity, booking journey and voice. It is deliberately a standalone brand: connected to the strength and investment capability of MCR, but designed entirely around the customer.

“We have had weeks, not months. Edmund Kissner and I have collaborated extremely well, and our marketing and hospitality teams have moved with real pace to create the foundations of the brand, rebuild the digital journey and begin the physical renovation programme, including the penthouse apartment at Ashburn Court.

“What has launched is not the final expression of The Kensington Collection. It is the first credible version of it. We will keep improving the rooms, apartments, service, photography and booking experience as we learn what customers value most.

“This is also only the beginning of MCR’s hospitality story. Later this year we plan to introduce a broader brand platform capable of operating nationally and, potentially, internationally. We expect to complete a number of hotel and extended-stay opportunities in the near future, so the job now is to build the brand architecture and operating discipline ahead of that growth.”

A platform for hospitality growth

The launch reflects MCR Property Group’s wider model: acquire well-located assets, bring strategy and delivery capability in-house, invest quickly and build operating platforms that can grow beyond a single property.

The Kensington Collection will remain the Group’s dedicated London collection, centred on distinctive stays in Kensington, Knightsbridge and Belgravia. MCR’s wider hospitality platform, due to be announced later in 2026, will be designed to support a broader pipeline of hotels and extended-stay properties in the UK, with the potential to expand internationally over time.

Guests can explore the collection, compare hotels and serviced apartments, and book directly at thekensingtoncollection.co.uk.