News
Soho House to focus on improving member experience over new openings
By Sophie Witts
The chief executive of Soho House has sought to shake off doubts about the company amid growing speculation about its future. Andrew Carnie told an inves-
tor call that the private mem- bers’ club was “still as special as when we opened our first house in 1995”. It comes amid growing pres-
sure on the expanding brand which, since listing on the New York stock exchange in 2021, has faced criticism from mem- bers over the quality of its offer- ing. One told The Guardian the group didn’t “feel special” any longer, while the New York Post spoke to more than a dozen members in February who declared it was “now uncool”. Soho House was also tar- geted by Wall Street short seller GlassHouse earlier this year, which warned the members’ club faced “an existential crisis” and was essentially worthless. Soho House rejected the claims and Carnie said last week the group was working with a forensic accounting firm and a global law firm to review its accounts and counter “any misleading statements”. “I want to acknowledge our continued confidence in how
White City House in west London was recently refurbished as part of improving the member experience
we run our business and our accounting practices,” he said. The members’ club, which
has never posted a profit, saw net losses shrink from £172m in 2022 to £93m in 2023. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation more than dou- bled last year, growing 110% to £100.5m, while total revenue rose 17% to around £860m. Soho House’s membership increased 20% last year to 194,000, while its waitlist hit a new record high of 99,000.
However, the group stopped accepting new members in Lon- don, New York and Los Angeles this year to prevent its clubs becoming too overcrowded. Carnie said a focus on improv-
ing the membership experience had led to the recent refurbish- ment of the pool and rooftop at White City House in London, while a well-known London restaurant was set to open at its Soho Farmhouse site this spring. Soho House has more than
20 new houses in the pipeline but will only open between
two and four sites a year due to ongoing development delays, Carnie added. This year will see the launch of
Soho Mews House in London’s Mayfair as well as Soho House Manchester, the group’s first club in the north of England. Soho House launched on Lon-
don’s Greek Street in 1995 as a hub for people working in the creative industries and now runs 13 UK houses, where global membership costs £2,900 a year.
sophie.witts@thecaterer.com Groucho Club heading to West Yorkshire in 2026
London’s famous Groucho Club is to open its first private members’ club and hotel out- side the capital in West York- shire in 2026. The Groucho Bretton will be
housed in Bretton Hall in West Bretton, Wakefield, a former arts college that sits within 500 acres of grounds in the York- shire Sculpture Park. It will have 40 bedrooms that
will be open to the public and those staying overnight will have access to the same perks as Groucho members. The development of Groucho Bretton comes after hospitality
6 | The Caterer | 22 March 2024
group Artfarm bought the origi- nal Groucho in London’s Soho in 2022. The club has acted as a hub for the arts, literature and media community for almost 40 years. The project will be led by
Groucho’s first female chief executive Elli Jafari, who will join from London’s Standard hotel next month. Ewan Venters, chief executive
of Artfarm, said: “This is possibly the most exciting venture in the 39-year history of the Groucho. We want people to feel they are part of a family and a community, not just a members’ club.”
Artfarm’s growing hospitality portfolio includes the Fife Arms in Braemer, Roth Bar and Grill
in Somerset, and the Audley Public House and Mount St Res- taurant and Rooms in London.
Bretton Hall will be the second home of London’s Groucho Club
www.thecaterer.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
