Soho House to stop accepting new London members to prevent overcrowding

Soho House is to stop accepting new members in London, New York, and Los Angeles in 2024 to prevent its clubs becoming overcrowded.

In a letter to members last week, founder Nick Jones said he had taken on feedback and wanted to ensure its venues didn’t feel “too busy”.

“I’ve been talking to our members and the teams in all our houses, which I’ve really valued,” he wrote.

“We continue to be very focused on improving service, as well as making sure our houses don’t feel too busy.

“For that reason, next year we’re closing the doors to new members across our houses in London, New York and Los Angeles, and will only be accepting members in locations where we have capacity.”

Soho House was founded by Jones in London in 1995 to act as a hub for people working in the creative industries. It now runs nine private members’ clubs in London, where annual membership costs £2,750 a year, and more than 50 locations including hotels and co-working spaces worldwide.

In a third quarter trading update, the company said its number of house members had grown to 184,542, a 21.3% rise on the previous year, while the waitlist for membership hit an all-time high of 98,000.

Its total membership, which includes different tiers such as access to its co-working spaces, rose by over 43,000 during the year to 255,252.

Jones stepped down as chief executive of Soho House last year after recovering from prostate cancer. He said this had given him the space to focus on the clubs and feedback. He told members “more improvements are on their way”.

“We have also introduced new local house menus, better choice in member events, upgraded our gyms and wellness facilities, and made it easier to book via the Soho House App – all as a direct result of what members have been telling us,” he said.

Soho House continues to expand internationally and will open its first clubs in Manchester and Glasgow next year.

In November, the group bought the lease to the Hush Mayfair site, which it reportedly plans to relaunch as a members' club towards the end of next year.

Jones previously said the group wanted to offer UK members “more spaces outside of central London”.