InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the acquisition of European “premium urban” hotel brand Ruby for an initial sum of €110.5 million.
Munich-based Ruby Hotels, which was founded in 2013, currently operates 20 hotels including nine in Germany, three properties in London, as well as having a presence in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Ruby has another 10 hotels in its development pipeline, which are due to open over the next three years, including properties in Edinburgh, Marseille, Rome and Stockholm.
Following the deal Ruby will become UK-based IHG’s 20th hotel brand with its new owner expecting to “grow the brand with other hotel owners in Europe and globally”.
Elie Maalouf, CEO of IHG Hotels & Resorts, said: “We are delighted with the acquisition of Ruby, which further enriches our portfolio with an exciting, distinct and high-quality offer for both guests and owners in popular city destinations.
“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 CEO of the Ruby Group, said it had “carefully selected IHG as the right partner to take the Ruby brand and our international expansion to the next level”.
“IHG’s distribution powerhouse, the fact that Ruby perfectly complements IHG’s portfolio, and its proven track record of successfully preserving identity and culture when integrating brands, gives us great confidence as we embark on this next chapter together,” added Struck.
2024 financial results
IHG announced its acquisition of Ruby Hotels at the same time as it published full-year results for 2024, when the company recorded an overall 3 per cent year-on-year rise in revpar (revenue per available room), while average daily rate increased by 2.1 per cent and occupancy improved by 0.6 percentage points on the previous year.
“2024 was an excellent year of financial performance, strong growth and important progress against a clear strategy that is unlocking the full potential of our business for all stakeholders,” said Maalouf. “Revpar growth accelerated in Q4, reflecting the breadth of our global footprint and improvements in all three regions.”
In Europe, IHG said it had achieved year-on-year revpar growth of 5.9 per cent in continental Europe and an increase of 2.3 per cent in the UK in 2024.
IHG emphasised its continued growth in Europe, including doubling its footprint in Germany through its deal with NOVUM Hospitality, with all future NOVUM properties also due to join IHG’s portfolio when they open.
The company now has 355 hotels in the UK following a 2.6 per cent increase in net rooms during 2024 – the UK is IHG’s third largest market after the US and China. Currently IHG has a total of 878 hotels across Europe with another 260 in the development pipeline.
IHG’s revenue from “reportable segments” rose by 7 per cent year-on-year to $2.3 billion in 2024, while operating profit increased by 10 per cent to $1.12 billion for the year.