We present the results of ROSAT and XMM-Newton observations of the recurrent ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX) NGC 253 ULX1. This transient is one of the few ULXs that was detected during several outbursts. The luminosity reached 1.4$\,{\times}\,10^{39}$ \hbox{erg s$^{-1}$ and $0.5\,{\times}\,10^{39}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the detections by ROSAT and XMM-Newton, respectively, indicating a black hole X-ray binary (BHXRB) with a mass of the compact object of $>$11 M$_{\odot}$. In the ROSAT detection NGC 253 ULX1 showed significant variability, whereas the luminosity was constant in the detection from XMM-Newton. The XMM-Newton EPIC spectra are well-fit by a bremsstrahlung model (kT$=2.24\,$keV, $N_H=1.74\times10^{20} \mbox{cm}^{-2}$), which can be used to describe a comptonized plasma. No counterpart was detected in the optical I, R, B, NUV and FUV bands to limits of 22.9, 24.2, 24.3, 22 and 23 mag, respectively, pointing at a XRB with a low mass companion.