Otto Group acquires share in Ruby
- Munich
- 01 November 2019
The Otto family has acquired a 25% share in the Ruby Hotel group. The acquisition has been carried out in the context of an increase of capital. Ruby Hotels has been founded in 2013 as a Lean Luxury hotel group and is currently operating seven Ruby hotels. Another ten hotels are under construction or being prepared for construction.
Alexander Otto, CEO of ECE: "As of today, ECE Group already is among the three largest hotel developers in the DACH region. By getting access to the operational expertise of Ruby hotels and combining it with our existing competences in developing hotels, we will gain an excellent position to further strengthen our hotel investment activities.”
Michael Struck, CEO of Ruby Hotels: "This partnership provides Ruby with access to ECE Group’s pan-European network and development expertise. Based on the flexible room design concepts and the mixed-use approach of building design, we see major opportunities in the extension or conversion of inner-city retail space.”
For example, ECE has managed to sign Ruby Hotels as tenant for a former office space at Kö Galerie Düsseldorf. ECE is also planning a congress hotel and a long-stay concept for the Marriott group in Hamburg’s HafenCity district.
The Munich-based Ruby Group, founded by CEO Michael Struck, Michael Hehn and the Soravia Group, is breaking new ground with its Lean Luxury philosophy. By having a lean organisational structure and concentrating on the essentials, Ruby manages to create a contemporary, affordable form of luxury for modern, cost- and style-conscious customers.
Founded in 2013, the group already operates seven Ruby hotels, with ten additional hotels in Europe either under construction or in the planning phase of construction. With the Ruby Asia joint venture, founded in 2018, Ruby is expanding into Asia; two hotels will shortly open in Shanghai and Zhuhai. Additionally, in Munich and Hamburg, Ruby has recently started offering Ruby Works: perfectly equipped workspaces and a creative ambiance with access to an inspiring office community. Financially strong partners support the expansion of Ruby. The Austrian Soravia Group; Michael Hehn, an entrepreneur; Ocean Link, a private equity fund; Franger Investment, a German family office; and Michael Struck jointly hold the company shares.
ECE develops and operates shopping centers and realizes large-scale real estate projects such as corporate headquarters, office and industrial buildings, logistics centers, hotels, and city districts. Managing 195 shopping centers and operating in eleven countries, ECE is a leading shopping center company in Europe. The assets operated by ECE on behalf of their owners have a current market value of €32.3 billion. Every day, approximately 4.1 million customers visit ECE-managed centers which accommodate about 20,000 retail tenants on a total sales area of about seven million square meters, generating a total annual turnover of around €22.3 billion. In addition, ECE has realized or planned almost 1.2 million square meters in office space, more than 1.7 million square meters in logistics space, over 3,100 hotel rooms, and more than 2,900 apartments. Founded by mail-order company pioneer Werner Otto (1909-2011) in 1965, ECE is still owned by the Otto family and managed by his son Alexander Otto, who has been holding the position of CEO since 2000. As a family-owned enterprise, ECE stands for long-standing partnerships, sustainable operations, an employee-focused work environment, and broad social commitment. More information on: www.ece.com
Media contact:
ECE Projektmanagement
Lukas Nemela
Spokesman
Telephone: +49 (40) 60606-6898
press@ece.com
www.ece.com
Ruby Hotels
Grifco PR
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 751 8010
press@ruby-hotels.com
www.ruby-hotels.com
