Highly specific reactions of a catechol phosphane (2, H 2 L) with suitable ruthenium precursors afforded complexes [Ru(LH 2 ) 2 Cl 2 ], [Ru(LH) 2 (L′) x ] (L′ = NO, PPh 3 , Cl, py, CNtBu) or [Ru(LH) 3 ]Y (Y = H, K), in which 2 acts as P,O-bound chelating ligand. The formation of bis-or tris-chelate structures depends on the metal-to-ligand ratio employed. All products were characterized by analytical and spectroscopic data and single-crystal XRD studies. The orientation of the neutral and mono-deprotonated catechol groups is strongly influenced by hydrogen bonding, and the free hydroxyl groups in some complexes are [a] 3834 pre-organized for coordination of a second metal centre, and this suggests that these species can be used as metalloligands. This hypothesis was verified by the synthesis of heterobimetallic Ru,Ti complexes through reactions of selected metalloligands with suitable Ti IV precursors. Characterization of the products by single-crystal XRD studies revealed that the bimetallic complexes contain cores of two face-sharing metalcentred octahedra, which are linked by two and three ditopic ligands, respectively. accessed in one step through self-assembly of the hybrid phosphane and suitable Lewis acids, or by a two-step sequence. In this case, the ditopic ligand is first allowed to react with a single metal centre with a strong preference for one of the two binding sites. As the second site is still available, the resulting complex can be viewed as a metalloligand [6] that may subsequently coordinate a second metal ion to yield the final product. Depending on the nature of the initial reactant, hybrid phosphanes can give rise to metalloligands that offer either their phosphorus atom or the complementary functional groups for further coordination.A specific illustration of this concept is given by catechol phosphanes such as 1 [7] or 2 [8] (Scheme 1), which were used as Scheme 1. Ditopic catechol phosphanes 1, 2 and selected transition metal complexes.