Homelike, a German B2B booking platform for furnished business and serviced apartments, has announced it will be launching in the UK next month.

The expansion of the company’s network in to the UK, which comes following successful debuts in Germany plus launches in Austria and Switzerland, will see Homelike enter the London market, before testing the waters in the rest of the country.

Founded in 2015, Homelike focuses specifically on the demands of the corporate and business traveller who may need extended stays of more than a month and find that they want more than a traditional hotel set up can offer, such as real privacy and the cosy feeling of being at home.

“It was just a matter of time to launch Homelike in the UK”

Homelike believes that its platform makes renting furnished housing for extended periods “as easy as booking a hotel room”. This allows companies to give their employees the comfort and privacy of living in their own apartment on long-term business trips. At the same time, the Homelike team says that companies save an average of 40% compared to hotel rates.

The company currently offers more than 40,000 furnished apartments in over 100 cities across its established territories. And by adding London to its increasing portfolio the online service will fortify its inventory with “several thousand” furnished and serviced apartments.

“London’s temporary housing market is one of the largest markets in Europe”

Discussing the move, Dustin Figge, co-founder and managing director of Homelike, noted that it was inevitable the company would plant a flag into the British capital: “London’s temporary housing market is one of the largest markets in Europe and still growing in the business apartment segment.

“It was just a matter of time to launch Homelike in the UK and we are now very excited to offer our existing and new clients a wide portfolio of curated furnished business apartments in London. The London based team will be working closely with apartment providers and corporate clients as well as expanding our portfolio throughout the UK.”