Groucho_Club
Groucho Club
Private members' club in Soho, London
The Groucho Club is a private members' club founded in 1985 and located on Dean Street in London's Soho. Its members are mainly drawn from the publishing, media, entertainment and arts industries.[1]
| The Groucho Club | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Address | 45 Dean Street |
| Town or city | London |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51.5131°N 0.1341°W / 51.5131; -0.1341 |
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The club's facilities include three bars, two restaurants, a snooker room, an enclosed terrace, 20 bedrooms for members or their guests and four event rooms, which are available for hire.[2]
The club opened on 5 May 1985. Its name was in reference to Groucho Marx's saying he did not want to be a member of any club that would have him.[3][4]
The club was owned by Graphite Capital from 2006 to 2015, when it was sold to a group of investors led by Isfield Investments and Alcuin Capital Partners.[5] In 2022, the Groucho Club was purchased through Manuela and Iwan Wirth's Art Farm, which owns a group of boutique hotels and restaurants, for £40 million ($48.9 million).[6]
In March 2024, the club announced that it would be opening its inaugural branch outside of London at Bretton Hall near Wakefield in Yorkshire.[7]
Anyone who is proposed by two existing members may apply for membership, but applications are favoured from those working in the creative side of media and the arts.[8]
Prominent members of the club have included Cara Delevingne, Nick Grimshaw, Harry Styles, Caroline Flack,[8] Jarvis Cocker, Lily Allen, Melvyn Bragg, Stephen Fry, Noel Gallagher, Luke Pasqualino and Rachel Weisz.[9]
The club has a large collection of contemporary art, curated by Nicki Carter, a graduate of Goldsmiths' during the YBA period, erstwhile waitress and now the longest serving employee.[10]
Launched in 2010 as 'the antidote to other awards', The Groucho Club Maverick Award celebrates people who have broken the mould in their field by challenging and making a significant contribution to culture and the arts in the previous 12 months, either in the UK or internationally.[11]
- Sophie Leris (21 May 2010). "The Groucho Club: a home for hellraisers". Evening Standard. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- "Inside Story: The Groucho Club – 20 years of schmoozing and boozing". The Independent. 2 May 2005. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- Well, The Web. "HISTORY – Groucho Club". Groucho Club. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- Groucho Marx – Wikiquote. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - Cotterill, Joseph (18 June 2015). "Groucho Club sold by private equity firm". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
- Alex Greenberger (11 August 2022), Hauser & Wirth Owners Buy Storied London Private Club with a Star-Studded Art Collection ARTnews.
- "'Why would we go to America first?' London's Groucho Club to open in Yorkshire". The Guardian. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- "Why Is 'The Groucho Club' Harry Styles' Favourite London Hotspot? (Pictures)". Contactmusic.com. February 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- "The Groucho Club: Private members bar set for £40 million buy out". Evening Standard. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- "The walls talk in the Groucho Club | Christie's". Christie's. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- "Nell Gifford wins the Groucho Maverick Prize". 2 November 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
- Patten, Alice (2015). The Groucho Club – 30th Anniversary. London: Preface Publishing. ISBN 978-1848094703.
- 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.