International law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has launched its first European Hotel Market Survey at the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin.

The report, which represents the views of more than 400 hotel industry professionals, says London will be the city of merger and acquisition (M&A) growth in the hotel sector in 2014.

In 2013, foreign investors contributed to more than £3bn of UK hotel investment – almost double 2012’s total

and accounted for 13.5 per cent of website searches for hotels for sale in the same year.

Highlights of the survey included 97 per cent of respondents predicting growth in REVPAR for Europe in 2014, with over half citing hotels as having outperformed 'traditional' commercial property in the last five years.

76 per cent of respondents believe London will see the most M&A activity in 2014, with Paris following at 49 per cent, while more than two thirds believe investment this year will be focused on Europe. The report also revealed that institutional investors increasingly value the benefits of hotel property as an attractive real estate asset class.

BLP conducted the research between January and February 2014. It is based on data from over 400 online interviews, with a cross-section of hotel industry professionals across 20 countries worldwide.

To read the full report click here.