Building Without Compromise

After exiting his first venture, Laurence Malyon returned within 16 hours to build again – this time with sharper discipline, stronger partnerships and a relentless focus on guest experience. When Malyon exited his first business in 2024, he planned to take six months off. The break lasted less than a day. Now founder of Malyon Group, he’s channeling a decade of hard-won lessons into building a brand that sits between serviced apartments and boutique hotels — combining prime city locations, thoughtful design and uncompromising service. He shares the realities of scaling in a capital-intensive sector, navigating setbacks, and why long-term thinking and great people make all the difference. Entrepreneur UK finds out more…

What inspired you to start your business?
Honestly? I love building something. I started my first business at university then spent almost a decade growing and scaling it. After I exited in 2024, I told myself I’d take six months off. That lasted about 16 hours.  Moment and Malyon Group came from wanting to do it again, but with everything I’d learned. A better team, better brand, and zero compromise on the guest experience.  It’s also personal. My partner Becky and I designed the brand around how we want to travel: in the heart of a city, with our own space, but with proper service and real attention to detail. That gap between serviced apartments and boutique hotels is exactly where Moment lives., I can’t wait to keep building it. 

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it? 
The capital requirements in this sector are huge. Opening great sites and building the infrastructure to deliver a brilliant guest experience from day one costs real money before the portfolio catches up. We’ve been fortunate to have some fantastic investor relationships that have helped fuel our growth, but it’s an ongoing push and a big focus as we scale. 

Beyond that though, the biggest challenge is the rollercoaster itself. Deals fall through after months of work. Legislation shifts. One week you’re flying, the next you’re firefighting.  What’s helped me is surrounding myself with brilliant people who challenge me. I always try to over-communicate so the team understands the bigger picture.  It’s important for me to prioritise long-term thinking. When you’re building something meant to last decades, the short-term dips feel a lot smaller. 

How do you handle failure or setbacks? 
I try to zoom out and remind myself I’ve been here before. Younger me would have catastrophised. Experience teaches you the world doesn’t end.  I extract the lesson fast. What was in our control? What wasn’t? What do we do differently? Then move forward. Failure only really hurts if you ignore it or let it knock your belief in yourself. I treat it as data. Sometimes expensive data, but data all the same. 

What advice would you give to someone starting their own business? 
There are two things I wish I’d learned earlier. One: discipline matters, especially at the start. But don’t get so locked in that you forget to lift your head up and check you’re on the right track. Make sure the ladder is against the right wall.  Two: build around people. Genuinely. Business gets talked about as strategy and numbers, but it’s really just humans. Your team, your guests, your partners. Communicate clearly, care properly, and you’ll solve more problems than you’d expect. 

How do you stay motivated during tough times? 
I reconnect to the vision: building incredible spaces in amazing cities. A team I’m genuinely proud to work alongside. That stuff doesn’t get old.  I also focus on momentum; I’m high energy and I like progress. So, in tough stretches I find small, controllable wins. Move one deal forward; fix one process; have one important conversation. Progress creates energy, full stop.  And I lean on people. Becky has been central to shaping the brand and product from the start. Tough periods are so much easier when you’re not carrying them alone. 

What are your tips for achieving success? 
Expand your time horizon. Think in years, not weeks. Real value, reputation, trust and compounding growth takes time.  Communicate more than feels necessary. As founders we carry so much context in our heads. Your team executes well when they understand the why, not just the what.  Drop your ego, seek advice from everywhere, challenge your own thinking, and be willing to be wrong. That’s what makes you better.  Say yes to the opportunity and figure it out. Jump out the plane and build the parachute on the way down. And most importantly, enjoy the process. The long days, the pressure, the build-up are integral to the end result. If you can learn to love building, not just arriving, you’ll create something that lasts. And this? This is just the beginning.