He built a short term let business to 70 units and 20 staff — then walked away at 29 to start from scratch. The very next day he went to view a hotel. 🏨

In this episode of the Scottish Property Podcast, Nick and Steven sit down with Laurence Malyon — founder of Moment aparthotel brand — for one of the most wide-ranging conversations they've had on the show. Laurence covers everything from running concerts for the neighbours at age 5 and rebranding his family's fire suppression business at 15, to building Donnini Apartments with his uni flatmate Jake, exiting after seven years, and launching a hospitality brand that just did a £2.325 million deal on Edinburgh's George IV Bridge.

This one is packed with lessons on business partnerships, aparthotel strategy, STL licensing, commercial funding, and why Glasgow and Edinburgh are completely different beasts.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome back to Laurence & what he's been building since

01:08 – Exiting Donnini & launching Moment hotel brand the very next day

01:58 – Growing up in a rundown farmhouse near Beattock

02:59 – The family fire suppression business

03:36 – Rebranding the family business at 15

05:15 – Why London and Dubai are the real competition

07:41 – Running concerts for the neighbours at age 5

09:01 – Selling fruit and veg to teachers for profit

10:39 – First flip at uni with Jake

13:47 – Discovering Airbnb as it was becoming a thing

14:10 – Touchstone / Progressive property training

16:59 – The rent to rent model that started it all

17:26 – STL legislation: why serviced accommodation is so much harder now

19:40 – Planning consent: licences, planning, or both

28:45 – The plan to go beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow

33:25 – Becky, the business conversation that changed everything

34:22 – The Moment trademark — what it means and why he owns it

35:00 – 12 George IV Bridge Edinburgh — the flagship deal

38:07 – £2.325 million on practical completion

39:39 – RBS as main lender — the journey to get there

40:22 – Oak North bank and how they got funding over the line

47:28 – First hire CJ — building the team

50:00 – Remote team in the Philippines

52:41 – 18% management fee — how it's structured

59:01 – Sonder went bust: lessons from the big operators

1:01:18 – Stay Cool: what the brand offers and why it's different

1:03:40 – Expansion plans: Lisbon, Paris and beyond

CONNECT WITH LAURENCE

Moment Aparthotels: momentstays.com

@moment.stays on Instagram

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💬 Would you have walked away from 70 units to start again? Drop it in the comments 👇