The Dally: affordable members’ club launches £1m fundraise for expansion

Neighbourhood private members’ club the Dally is launching a £1m fundraise to open its second site and kick-start UK expansion.

Founders Caroline Baldwin and Claire Ilardi-Crow launched the venture in 2023 to shake-up the traditional members’ club model by opening sites in neighbourhood locations.

The pair believe the venture has potential to grow to five sites in London and affluent holiday destinations such as North Norfolk and Cornwall over the next five years.

Prices at the Dally are designed to be more accessible than rival clubs, with membership costing £630 a year upfront, or £66 a month, plus a £250 joining fee.

The group’s first club opened in Islington, North London, in spring 2023. Spread over three storeys, the club includes a cosy ‘Living Room’ area, Mediterranean restaurant Margo’s and hosts book launches, comedy, live music and supper clubs. 

Trading is ahead of expectations with membership levels up 55% on initial projections, according to the Dally, and 33% of all visits are made by guests of members.

The Dally is already backed by a series of private, hospitality-focused investors, and proceeds from the £1m fundraise will partly be used to develop a second club.

This will likely be in one of London’s ‘village’ neighbourhoods, where the group sees potential to develop its events-focused model, ahead of further expansion in the capital and nationwide.

Baldwin said: “We’ve had a fantastic start to life. In the six months since opening, we’ve traded ahead of expectations, have strong membership levels and a good pipeline of enquiries, and a run of private event bookings all the way up to the spring.

“Our performance reflects our belief that there is a gap in the market for member-led, events-focused private members clubs located in the neighbourhoods in which their members live.

“Now, we’re ready to bring in more investors who want to join us on this journey to revolutionise the private members club sector and start scaling the Dally’s differentiated concept.”