IHG snaps up Ruby Hotels for £92m

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has acquired Ruby Hotels in a £92m deal as it seeks to more than quadruple the urban lifestyle brand’s global footprint over the next ten years.

It marks IHG’s 20th brand and bolsters the British hotel group’s luxury and lifestyle offering, which includes brands such as Six Senses, Kimpton and Hotel Indigo.

Munich-based Ruby Hotels was established in 2013 and currently operates 20 hotels with 3,483 rooms in major cities across Europe. It has nine hotels open in Germany, three in the UK across London, three in Austria, two in Switzerland and one each in Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The brand has 10 hotels with 2,235 rooms in the pipeline which are set to open over the next three years across European cities such as Edinburgh, Marseille, Rome and Stockholm.

IHG is looking to expand the Ruby brand to more than 120 hotels over the next 10 years and to reach more than 250 sites worldwide over 20 years .

The hotel giant said the acquisition of the ‘lean luxury’ brand would unlock more opportunities for growth due to its “highly conversion-friendly” model.

IHG said it expects to have a Ruby brand ready for development in the US by the end of the year.

Elie Maalouf, chief executive officer at IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “The urban micro space is a franchise-friendly model with attractive owner economics, and we see excellent opportunities to not only expand Ruby’s strong European base but also rapidly take this exciting brand to the Americas and across Asia, as we have successfully done with previous brand acquisitions.”

Michael Struck, founder and chief executive of the Ruby Group, added: “Combining the global reach and resources of IHG with the efficiency advantages of our operational and construction model will drive superior returns for our investors and real-estate partners, alike.

"Also, the timing could not be better. Our unique solutions for efficient adaptive re-use of office space are in high demand, positioning us for strong growth.”

IHG will start integrating Ruby Hotels into its portfolio later this year and expects to complete the merger by 31 March 2026.

IHG’s agreement with Ruby Hotels follows a boost in lifestyle hotel deals over the past year, including Hyatt’s takeover of Standard International by Hyatt and Hilton’s acquisition of NoMad hotels.

Image: The Ruby Group