A German company is to open a 300-bedroom hotel in two vacant retail plots on Princes Street in Edinburgh.

The Ruby hotel, over seven floors, will occupy units left vacant by Next and Zara following their move to the St James Quarter will be the first Scottish location for the company. It aims to open at the end of 2025.

The chain owns hotels in cities such as Amsterdam, Florence and Munich, where the company is based.

Julian Mors, group director at Ruby, commented: “The hotel market in Edinburgh has proven to be very robust in the past, showing sustainable growth and offering a lot of potential for our concept, especially in the affordable luxury segment. We are very excited to enter the Scottish market with this great project.

The development is by Hunter REIM that will also feature ground floor retail space and a rooftop bar.

The announcement means that most of the bigger vacant units on Princes Street are now in the process of being redeveloped to bring them back into productive use.