Ruby Hotels, the Munich-based hotel brand and pioneer of the ‘Lean Luxury’ philosophy, and Michael Struck, CEO and founder, will launch its fourth UK property in early 2024. The new 169-room hotel will follow the launch of Ruby’s three former London hotel openings.
The new Ruby Hotel will be located just a few minutes’ walk from the famous Tate Modern, the Southbank and Borough Market, whilst close proximity to Southwark Underground tube station provides excellent transport links. A further four train stations are located no more than ten minutes’ walk away, including Waterloo Station, which is very close to sister hotel, Ruby Lucy.
The property is to be built in a new public space called “Friars Yard”. It will have seven floors and 169 rooms. The project developer is Endurance Land and the investment partner is Angelo Gordon. Developer Endurance Land, who were advised by Jones Lang LaSalle, are creating a mixed-use site at 160 Blackfriars Road with a high-quality building complex for offices, retail space and the new publicly accessible and landscaped “Friars Yard” courtyard. A team from Taylor Wessing LLP headed by Michael Helfgott advised Ruby on all legal aspects of the lease. The associated new hotel building will open directly onto the inner courtyard and will offer an oasis of calm for hotel guests, residents and passers-by in the middle of busy London.
The property will house 169 rooms, ranging in size from cosy ‘Nest’ rooms (14-15 m²) to expansive ‘Loft’ rooms (21-23 m²), seven floors, a spacious and stylish 24-hour bar, café and lounge on the ground floor. All guest rooms will showcase Ruby Hotels’ sleep-scientist-approved formula for a peaceful night’s sleep, with full soundproofing, blackout curtains, high-quality linen and extra-long and wide custom mattresses.
This is the fourth time Ruby has managed to secure a hotel project in the UK capital, one of the most competitive real estate markets in the world. Following the successful opening of Ruby Lucy on the South Bank in early 2020, Ruby Zoe which will open in Notting Hill early 2023 and Ruby Stella, coming to Clerkenwell in 2023, the fourth project brings the total capacity to 571 hotel rooms in London.
Jonathan Fletcher, CEO of Endurance Land, commented, “We are delighted to have exchanged the agreement for lease with Ruby Hotels at 160 Blackfriars Road and look forward to welcoming them to the building in early 2024. Ruby’s ‘Lean Luxury’ brand is the ideal fit for the mixed-use development on the site.”
Greg Childs, Executive Vice President, Hotel Development Advisory Group, EMEA, JLL, added: “We’re pleased to have supported Endurance Land and Angelo Gordon in their hotel operator search and in the selection of Ruby Hotels for this exciting project. The long-term prospects of the London hotel sector underpin the continued activity we’re seeing in the market now and Ruby’s distinguished brand offering is well suited for this development.”
Just like the group’s other houses, the new hotel in London will follow Ruby’s ‘Lean Luxury’ philosophy: a top location, high-quality fittings, and outstanding design. All of this is offered at an affordable price by rigorously cutting out the superfluous and focusing on the essential.
“The current challenges and future prospects of the industry have confirmed our ‘Lean Luxury’ approach. We make a luxurious and unique hotel experience affordable for our guests, and combine this with a cost structure, which is leaner and more adaptable than usual. This has the added advantage of reducing the risk for our real estate partners,” said Michael Struck with reference to the current situation. “Our strategy works because we fit our luxuries into a relatively small area. We plan and build on a more modular basis; we centralise more and we consistently automate systems behind the scenes.”
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