An eye for good deals

THERE are some rabid shoppers who can't leave a store without buying something. Then you have Choe Peng Sum, who can't seem to walk down a street without buying himself a hotel. Such is the occupational hazard for Frasers Hospitality's chief executive who has for the past 18 years been driving its growth of serviced apartments, and now boutique hotels. Fraser Suites' first property in London 14 years ago, for one, came about while he was negotiating a deal for another property in Earls Court.

He says: "I was walking back (after a meeting) towards Stanhope Gardens and saw this hoarded-up area and I thought, wow, this is so good - right next to Gloucester Road Station."

On a whim, he went to check who the owners were and found that they were linked to Singapore companies. And - they were willing to sell. Forty million pounds (and dropping the Earls Court plans) later, Fraser Suites Kensington was born and today, "I have an offer of £150 million (…