Development

Hospitality done differently

Combining soulful experiences with over 25 years of real-estate development expertise, our in-house Development Studio is shaping a future-facing approach to hospitality.

edyn Development Studio 

We have a deep understanding of the modern traveller, brought to life through a multi-disciplinary skillset. The product? A suite of boundary-pushing hybrid aparthotels and serviced apartments to suit their needs.

Our multinational portfolio

From ground-up builds to conversions and refurbishments, our Development Studio has brought to life 33 properties – and counting - under our Locke, Cove and SACO brands across the UK and Europe.

Here's what's coming next

We want to develop and operate unique and distinctively designed properties, firmly rooted in their local neighbourhoods, in every gateway city across Europe. In the next few years, we’ll make that a reality – with plenty of developments underway. Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen - see you soon.

Locke De Santa Joana, Avenida Da Liberdade

Opening Spring 2024
Rua Santa Marta, Lisbon
368 apartments

Karsten Locke, Copenhagen

Opening Winter 2024
Postbyen, Copenhagen
236 apartments

Locke am Platz, Zurich

Opening November 2023
Enge, Zurich, Switzerland
80 apartments

the cities we'd like to call home

Our dream is to bring soulful hospitality to travellers everywhere, but these are the cities we've currently got our eye on. Want to get involved?

Austria

Target cities:
Vienna

Germany

Target cities:
- Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Frankfurt

Portugal

Target cities:
- Lisbon

Spain

Target cities:
Barcelona, Madrid

Sweden

Target cities:
- Stockholm

Italy

Target cities:
- Rome, Milan

France

Target cities:
- Paris

Switzerland

Target cities:
- Geneva, Zurich

We'd make a great team

Why partner with us?

We take care of it all. We control acquisition, financing and legals, and design and development and have built a lean in-house team supported by outsourced experts and partners. 


We look to the future. Our operational delivery model is industry-leading, prioritising guest needs and leveraging the efficiency, scale and expertise of our central hub. We move quickly, scaling spend across properties and countries.


We host longer stays. 60% of our stays are longer than 7 nights, giving us a competitive advantage and a higher profit margin than a traditional hotel model.


We bring a broad crowd. Our versatile properties cater to diverse customer needs with living spaces, kitchens, and immersive social spaces featuring destination F&B, cultural programming and co-working areas. As a result, we attract business and leisure, short and long-term travellers.


We’re resilient. Our hybrid model and adaptable product lets us flex to changing customer needs.

Our property must-haves 

Each of our brands - Locke, Cove and SACO - is unique, but each of our serviced apartments and aparthotels share certain signatures.

Between 50 and 260 rooms


Based in European gateway cities


Average room size of 25m2 to 35m2


Mix of studios and one-bed apartments (at least 20% studios) 


Ideally all rooms have kitchens


Perfect for stays of 7 to 28 nights 


Mid-to high-end design, fixtured and fittings


Behind-the-scenes spaces for staff, and extra spaces for guests to hang out

Get to know the Development Studio

Alex Bauman-Lyons

Creative Director

Alex Bauman-Lyons

Creative Director

Alex is an experienced architect and designer who endured years of working on water treatment plants and airports before realising it’s far more fun designing hotels, restaurants and bars.

During his five years at edyn, Alex has been instrumental in shaping the identity of our brands and properties, growing the edyn platform.

Since leaving his hometown of Leeds aged 18, Alex has lived in New York, Buenos Aires and London, and worked on projects across Europe, Asia, and North America. In the end, he settled on London, where he now resides with his wife and two children. He remains a proud Yorkshireman in exile.

Maddalena Padrin

General Counsel

Maddalena Padrin

General Counsel

Maddalena is edyn’s General Counsel responsible for overseeing all our legal matters ranging from compliance and risk management, corporate structure, tax, trademark and data protection, to property, finance, commercial agreements, employment and leases. Maddalena works closely with the acquisition, investment, finance, development and operations teams at edyn, providing strategic advice and managing teams of external legal advisors across multiple jurisdictions. Prior to edyn, Maddalena was a Senior Counsel at Taylor Wessing, where she worked for 17 years. When Maddalena isn’t keeping the business safe and us all out of jail, she spends what little time is left with her family and her passion for discovery.

Charles Cresser

Development Director

Charles Cresser

Development Director

As the group’s Development Director, Charles is tasked with overseeing the development & construction process. This includes technical due diligence at acquisition, planning/permitting, procurement, construction, project close out and handover. During his international career, Charles has delivered over £1bn of projects by value, priding himself on the disciplined execution of each asset. His previous roles include Director at Jones Lang LaSalle and Union Hanover Securities in addition to Project Manager at Mace and Currie & Brown. When Charles isn’t on site, he spends his time cycling and transporting his daughter around Greater London. During his time living in Russia, Charles expanded his cultural perspective and diplomacy, but mostly built an impressive ability to consume vodka. In addition to some interesting nicknames, he holds the titles MRICS and MCIOB.