London's private members' club scene is experiencing an unprecedented boom, with the imminent launch of The Pembroke, a £100 million, seven-storey venue in Belgravia. However, concerns are growing that the market may be overheating, with too many clubs chasing a shrinking pool of wealthy members, partly due to Labour's crackdown on non-domiciled tax status.
The Pembroke, located at Grosvenor Place, is set to open on September 1, offering 53,000 sq ft of space. But critics question its timing. One source involved early in the project said: "I just wasn’t sure if they understood what they are taking on." The club's annual fee for over-30s starts at £2,750, plus a £1,000 joining fee.
Non-Dom Exodus Threatens Club Memberships
Lawyers have advised non-doms leaving the UK to resign from clubs like Annabel’s, Soho House, or 5 Hertford Street, as HMRC may view membership as evidence of continued UK residency. HMRC’s Statutory Residence Test lists club membership as a potential indicator of tax residence. This has reportedly led to a wave of resignations. One rival operator noted: "There is just too much club capacity in London now, it will end in tears."
Despite these warnings, new clubs continue to emerge. The Leconfield, a Mayfair business networking club backed by Robert Tchenguiz and Liz Truss, charges £500,000 for founding life memberships. A competitor remarked: "The problem with membership fees at that level is you will be surrounded by people you really don’t want to spend time with."
New Wave of Club Openings
Other recent openings include 40 Duke at Selfridges, Maslow’s Kensington (a 30,000 sq ft wellbeing and working club), NEXUS in Kensington, and Tramp Health in Grosvenor Square. By most estimates, London now has between 130 and 140 private members’ clubs, far more than any other city. An industry insider said eight or nine potential new openings are in early planning stages.
With average membership around 3,000 per club, over 400,000 people may be paying monthly fees, though some belong to multiple clubs. Ross Shohan, restaurateur behind Lilibet’s, said: "More and more people are looking for ways to achieve a status symbol. Being a member of the new, the hot, the hard-to-get-into only adds to the ways they can try to separate themselves."
London as Club Capital of the World
London invented the private members’ club, with three distinct waves: 19th-century Pall Mall gentlemen’s clubs, Soho House-style lifestyle clubs from the 1990s, and today’s wellness and specialist clubs. New York has only 35-40 clubs, many being London spin-offs like Soho House Manhattan and The Ned NoMad. Robin Birley has opened Maxime’s in New York, and Annabel’s is eyeing a Manhattan outpost.
The concept has been exported globally, from Cairo’s Gezira Club to Panama City’s Club Unión. Even Abu Dhabi is consulting on creating a copycat version to lure wealthy Britons.
Can London Support Another Super-Club?
Luxury hospitality consultant Jamie Caring said: "Anecdotally I know of some wealthy people who have left the country but not given up their London club memberships. Hopefully some might return with a different government." He noted that several upscale clubs still have long waiting lists, offering potential for The Pembroke. However, he warned the club needs a clear USP, like 67 Pall Mall’s wine focus or the Groucho’s arts scene. He added that Belgravia "can be very sleepy," while successful clubs thrive in vibrant neighborhoods.
One competitor criticized The Pembroke for focusing too much on facilities: "They have committed the cardinal sin of obsessing too much on the facilities, rather than the people. You can’t build a community that way."
The Pembroke’s Ambition
The club’s launch caps a seven-year journey. Half the £100 million-plus cost went on buying the former residence of Prime Minister Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, half on renovations. About 250 staff were recruited from over 3,000 applicants. The club is designed so members arrive on the ground floor for calmness and coffee, and work upward as the day progresses.
Membership director Julian Hogan said visiting The Pembroke will be like "coming to your dotty auntie’s Belgravia townhouse." He added: "We really think it will breathe life back into London. We see it as a London club for Londoners." The club will even feature a dedicated butter sommelier.
CEO Will Woodhams, a Harvard Business School alumnus, described the recent openings as "a bit of a gold rush" often targeting the Dubai crowd. Despite fears of oversupply, he said there have been "thousands" of membership applications, "much more than expected." Time will tell if The Pembroke joins the ranks of Pall Mall’s grand establishments—but that judgment may take 200 years.
