Malaysia's YTL Hotels has bought three properties in Britain for an undisclosed sum.

One is Edinburgh's The Glasshouse, a 77-room luxury boutique hotel with a 0.8ha hidden rooftop garden. It is formerly the Lady Glenorchy Church, built in the mid- 19th century.

The second acquisition, Monkey Island, is a retreat in Bray-on- Thames on the River Thames in Berkshire. It is surrounded by gardens and accessible only by a footbridge or boat. The retreat is a 10-minute drive from Windsor and less than an hour's drive from Central London.

It will be redesigned by New- York based Champalimaud Design, which worked on interior design projects for hotels, including The Carlyle in New York.

YTL Hotels has also bought The Academy, which comprises five restored Georgian townhouses and is in London's West End and near the British Museum. The boutique hotel will undergo a full refurbishment.

The acquisitions take YTL Hotels' global portfolio to 29 assets in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, France, Spain and Britain. The firm is "capitalising its strong Asian presence to ride the growing wave of regional travellers exploring destinations farther afield", it said in a statement.

The company, which is the hospitality arm of YTL Corporation, co-owns the Eastern & Oriental Express luxury train.

Rennie Whang

Correction note: YTL Hotels' second acquisition, Monkey Island, was misspelt in the earlier version of the story. We are sorry for the error.