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Soho House (club)

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Soho House is an international private members’ club with a focus on the media, arts and fashion industries.[4][5] Membership is selective and primarily drawn from these fields. Although, in London, New York and Los Angeles the clubs have become overcrowded due to excessive acceptance of new members. Following complaints from members on overcrowding and poor customer service, membership in these cities is no longer open for new members.[6]

Soho House
Company typePublic
NYSE: SHCO
Founded1995
FounderNick Jones
Headquarters72–74 Dean Street, Soho London, England
Number of locations
42 Houses (2024)[1] 75 total sites (2022)[2]
Key people
Andrew Carnie (CEO)[2]
RevenueUS$1.12B (est.)[3] (2023)
OwnerRon Burkle
Members191,000[3] (2023)
Number of employees
7,866[2]
Websitewww.sohohouse.com

The company operates clubs, hotels, restaurants and other venues. In 2015 it changed its name from SOHO House Group to Soho House & Co.[7] The original location is at 40 Greek Street, Soho, London, England. As of March 2024, Soho House operated 42 club locations worldwide, with plans to open more. [8][1]

History and ownership

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The rooftop bar of Soho House in New York City

Nick Jones (Soho House founder and previous managing director) sold 80% of the club to British high-street tycoon Richard Caring in 2008.[9] On 13 January 2012, the Financial Times announced that 60% of Soho House Group had been acquired by the US billionaire Ron Burkle, through his investment fund Yucaipa in a £250 million deal, with founder Nick Jones retaining 10% and Richard Caring (Caprice Holdings) 30%. In September 2015, the company’s high leverage and limited free cash flow was under scrutiny by fixed income investors.[10][7][11] However, company profit potential has been affected by growth in new clubs.[12]

The company filed for an initial public offering in 2021, and went public in July 2021, trading under the name Membership Collective Group.[13] The organisation will use the money raised to pay down debt and finance further expansion.[13]

In November 2022, Nick Jones stepped down from day-to-day running of the business, citing a recent cancer diagnosis and recovery, and appointed Andrew Carnie as CEO.[14]

On March 20, 2023 Membership Collective Group became Soho House & Company. Their stock symbol changed from MCG to SHCO.[15]

As of 2024 the company had never made a profit; pre-tax losses for 2024 were forecast to be about US$73m.[8]

Membership

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Soho House membership policies are said to focus on creativity "above net worth and job titles" with "studied resistance to ostentation...[and] cultivated status signifiers," and favour moral values over financial success ("several execs were banned because they were thought to be abusive to their assistants").[5] In June 2015, Soho House had over 50,000 members and a global waiting list of over 30,000.[11] In July 2021, Soho House had 119,000 members across 27 houses in 10 countries.[16]

Locations

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List of current and planned Houses is maintained on the Soho House Web site.[1]

Europe/Middle East
  United Kingdom
  • London
    • 180 House
    • White City House
    • 40 Greek Street
    • Shoreditch House
    • 76 Dean Street
    • High Road House
    • Electric House
    • Little House Mayfair
    • Little House Balham
    • Soho Mews House
  • East Sussex
    • Brighton Beach House
  • Somerset
    • Babington House
  • Oxfordshire
    • Soho Farmhouse
  • Windsor
    • River House
  • Manchester
    • Soho House Manchester (opening in 2024)[17]
  Netherlands
  Greece
  Spain
  • Barcelona
    • Soho House Barcelona
    • Little Beach House Barcelona
  Turkey
  Italy
  • Rome
    • Soho House Rome
 
Soho House Stockholm
  Sweden
  Israel
  France
  Denmark
  Germany
North America
 
Soho House in Toronto
  Canada
  Mexico
  United States
  • New York
    • Soho House New York
    • DUMBO House
    • Ludlow House
  • Los Angeles
    • Little Beach House Malibu
    • Soho Warehouse
    • Holloway House
    • Soho House West Hollywood
  • Chicago
    • Soho House Chicago
  • Miami
    • Soho Beach House
    • Miami Pool House (opening in 2024)[1]
  • Nashville
    • Soho House Nashville
  • Austin
    • Soho House Austin
  • Portland, Oregon
    • Soho House Portland
Caribbean
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
South America
  Brazil
Asia
  Hong Kong
  India
  Thailand

Activities

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On 13 August 2017, the film Tulip Fever (starring Alicia Vikander) was first screened at London's Soho House.[23]

Incidents and controversies

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In 2002, the London branch of the club made headlines as Iris Law, the two-year-old toddler of Jude Law and Sadie Frost, was briefly hospitalised but ultimately unharmed after swallowing part of an ecstasy tablet she had found on the floor of Soho House while attending a children's birthday party.[24]

In 2009, more than eighty residents signed an appeal by a neighbourhood association against allowing Soho House to move into the top two floors of Luckman Plaza in West Hollywood, near Los Angeles, US. The opening of the West Hollywood location also drew opposition from Beverly Hills Mayor Nancy Krasne.[25]

On 9 December 2010, American swimsuit designer Sylvie Cachay was found murdered in room 20 of the Manhattan's branch.[26] Nicholas Brooks, her boyfriend of six months, was convicted of her second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life imprisonment.[27]

In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, an attempt to open a new club also met protest,[28] but an Amsterdam House nonetheless opened in August 2018.[29]

In April 2021 Berlin, Germany imposed a citywide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30] Bottega Veneta was criticised for holding maskless indoor dance parties at Berlin's Soho House for artists and celebrities flown in from around the world.[31] Though Soho House staff complained about the lack of safety measures and regulatory guidelines,[31] management said nothing and implied that staff were not telling the truth.[32] While the company claimed that what happened was "spontaneous," Berlin's Soho House staff said that the party spaces had been booked in advance.[32][33] Club members made their dissatisfaction and disappointment known, with some considering ending their membership; police investigated.[33]

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Soho House London is mentioned briefly in The Holiday by Jasper (Rufus Sewell).[34] Soho House New York was featured in season 6 of the TV series Sex and the City in an episode titled "Boy Interrupted". In this episode, Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) pretends to be a member by using a stolen membership card.[35]

In 2022, Soho House was mentioned in the Netflix drama Inventing Anna, where the main character, con artist Anna Delvey, when asked if she was rejected by Soho House in episode two, she replied: "I’d rather hang out at a McDonald's or start my own club and reject their members."[36]

Soho House on 76 Dean Street was used as a location in the 2024 crime novel Crooked Was His Cane, the nineteenth DCI Declan Walsh novel written by Jack Gatland; the pen name of New York Times #1 Bestseller Tony Lee. In it, DI Anjli Kapoor meets with Billionaire tech entrepreneur Eden Storm, who comments during the meeting "Soho House has a rule that only three guests can come in at any time with a member. I told them if they didn't give me four, I would have to buy the building and evict them." Tony Lee has been an "Everyhouse" member of Soho House since 2014. [37]

Soho Home

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In 2016, the club launched a 'modern interiors brand designed for relaxed, sociable living', called Soho Home.[38] The brand's flagship store located in Duke of York Square in Chelsea opened in 2021.[39]

Further reading

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  • Eat, Drink, Nap: Bringing the House Home. London: Preface Publishing. 2014. ISBN 978-1848094116.
  • Morning, Noon, Night: A Way of Living. London: Preface Publishing. 2016. ISBN 978-1848094116.
  • Thévoz, Seth Alexander (2022). Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Life of London Private Members' Clubs. London: Robinson/Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1-47214-646-5.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Houses". Soho House. Retrieved 5 March 2024. List of current and planned Soho Houses, updated as required.
  2. ^ a b c "Soho House 2022 ESG Report" (PDF). Soho House & Co. Inc. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Soho House Q2 2023 Earnings Presentation" (PDF). Soho House & Co. Inc. p. 15. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  4. ^ Wong, Pamela (18 April 2017). "Members Only: Soho House Joins High-End Hotel, Condos In DUMBO – BKLYNER". BKLYNER. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  5. ^ a b Baum, Gary (27 March 2015). "L.A.'s Soho House Turns 5: Membership Rejections, Success Secrets Revealed in Oral History". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  6. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (11 December 2023). "Soho House has stopped accepting new members in some cities after getting too popular | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b Harmer, Janet (27 August 2015). "Nick Jones on the opening of Soho Farmhouse". The Caterer. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  8. ^ a b Neate, Rupert (5 March 2024). "'It doesn't feel special': is Soho House a victim of its own success?". the Guardian.
  9. ^ Addley, Esther (13 January 2012). "Soho House agrees £250m deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  10. ^ Blitz, Roger; Jopson, Barney; Rappeport, Alan (13 January 2012). "US billionaire Burkle buys UK's Soho House". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Robert (25 September 2015). "Finance returns the favour and snubs Soho House". Reuters. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  12. ^ Laurent, Lionel (5 February 2018). "Membership Is Closer than You Think". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  13. ^ a b Hancock, Alice (15 July 2021). "The private members' club throwing open its doors to the public". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Soho House boss Nick Jones to step down after 27 years". Financial Times. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Membership Collective Group Is Now Soho House & Co Inc". www.businesswire.com. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  16. ^ Zainab, Noor (15 July 2021). "From Soho to Wall Street: Membership Collective shares fall in debut". Reuters. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  17. ^ Soho House Manchester, opening in 2024 sohohouse.com
  18. ^ Soho House Mexico City sohohouse.com
  19. ^ Soho House Is Opening a Mexico City Member’s Club in 2023 DEMETRIUS SIMMS, Robb Report, DECEMBER 6, 2022
  20. ^ "Soho House São Paulo". Soho House. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  21. ^ "Soho House Selects São Paulo as Second Location for Exclusive Club In Latin America". Bloomberg Línea. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  22. ^ "Soho House Bangkok". Soho House. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Alicia Vikander In Rodarte - 'Tulip Fever' London Screening". Red Carpet Fashion Awards. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  24. ^ Branigan, Tania (7 October 2002). "Jude Law's daughter in ecstasy mishap at club". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  25. ^ Zavis, Alexandra (16 August 2009). "West Hollywood residents object to plans for new club". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  26. ^ Pilkington, Ed (10 December 2010). "Fashion designer Sylvie Cachay found dead in Manhattan hotel bath". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  27. ^ Buettner, Russ (23 September 2013). "Designer's Boyfriend Is Sentenced in Killing at Soho House". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  28. ^ van der Hee, Sterre (23 July 2017). "Protest tegen Soho House: 'Bungehuis besmet verklaard'". Folia (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  29. ^ Block, India (2 August 2018). "Soho House opens in Amsterdam with a colour palette drawn from the Dutch Masters". Dezeen. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  30. ^ Klöpper, Anna; Memarnia, Susanne (12 April 2021). "Kliniken sehen Doppelrot". taz (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Fashion label Bottega Veneta receives criticism amid reports of a Soho House party following their Berghain fashion show". Resident Advisor. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  32. ^ a b Oltermann, Philip (12 April 2021). "Berlin police investigate possible breach of Covid rules at Soho House party". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  33. ^ a b Peter, Stefan (16 April 2021). "Aufstand gegen das Soho House". B.Z. (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  34. ^ https://www.lingq.com/en/learn-english-online/courses/198001/12-the-holiday-550418/ [bare URL]
  35. ^ Freydkin, Donna (7 August 2003). "NYC's Soho House: Celebrity members only". USA Today. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  36. ^ Flint, Hanna (18 February 2022). "I mean, would you want Anna Delvey as a member of your club?". www.sohohouse.com. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  37. ^ Gatland, Jack (30 June 2024). "Crooked Was His Cane on Amazon.co.uk". Amazon UK. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  38. ^ "Our Story". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  39. ^ "Our Stores". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
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