Demand for Canary Wharf Serviced Apartments Set to Increase-00-3760

The Crossrail scheme, described as Europe's largest civil engineering project, will link Heathrow Airport (the UK's largest airport) to Canary Wharf via underground tunnels, which will inevitably make Canary Wharf an even more popular business district than it already is. Accommodation providers will need to prepare for this, ensuring that they have enough facilities to accommodate all the business travellers that will be staying in Canary Wharf. The number of serviced apartments in Canary Wharf is continually growing to meet the level of demand that the area is likely to see.

Canary Wharf is London's second largest financial district. It is located on the Isle of Dogs in the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which is centred on the old West India Docks in London's Docklands. Now rivalling London's traditional financial centre, the Square Mile, Canary Wharf has a spectacular skyline which contains the UK's three tallest buildings: One Canada Square (often incorrectly referred to as Canary Wharf itself), is the tallest building, providing around 14,000,000 square feet of office and retail space, with HSBC (a building sold for 1.1 billion in 2007) and the Citigroup Centre coming joint second.

Canary Wharf is already well supported by transport links, served by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), the Jubilee tube line, London City Airport, and a frequent ferry that goes to the House of Commons. With such a wide spread of good transport links, providing services to other areas of London in particular, Canary Wharf is a popular destination for business travellers whether they are working in Canary Wharf or not, making it an area of high demand for serviced apartments. Although hotels are available in the area, most business travellers feel that staying in a serviced apartment in Canary Wharf provides them with a more comfortable and luxurious stay.

Over 90,000 people work in Canary Wharf and it is home to a number of the major banks' European or world headquarters, such as Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC and Clifford Chance. Many Canary Wharf serviced apartments are located within easy reach of these businesses, making them a popular choice for employees who are relocating to, visiting or simply staying in Canary Wharf.

With over 200 outlets, Canary Wharf is also a shopping destination which attracts around 500,000 people each week. Featuring retail outlets ranging from Next to Hugo Boss, Canary Wharf's shopping centre has something for everyone. Although most people staying in a serviced apartment in Canary Wharf will be there on business, the shopping centre is a must if time permits.

Canary Wharf's national significance largely stems from what it replaces: the former docks were the busiest in the world, serving huge industrial areas of east London and beyond. Now, both the docks and much of that industrial capacity are gone: they've been replaced with office buildings and employment has shifted to the service industry. In this respect, Canary Wharf could easily be cited as the single strongest symbol of the changed economic geography of the United Kingdom.