London’s star-studded Groucho Club is to open a new club and hotel in Yorkshire’s historic Bretton Hall.
The fashionable Soho joint, where artist Damien Hirst once barged his £20,000 Turner Prize winnings, first opened as a private members’ club in 1985 and now has thousands of members.
It has since become known for its celebrity guests, including Kate Moss and Bill Clinton, who have stepped through the busy doors at 45 Dean Street.
Now it is opening a new site in the north of England, at Bretton Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, The guard reported.
The fashionable Soho joint, where artist Damien Hirst once barged his £20,000 Turner Prize winnings, first opened as a private members club in 1985 and now has 5,000 members
Now it is opening a new site in the north of England, at Bretton Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Ewan Venters, CEO of Artfarm and Hauser & Wirth, supported the decision to move north before venturing to America.
The Grade II listed building, located in Yorkshire Sculpture Park, will be transformed into a hotel and club in partnership with retail investor Rushbound Group.
The estate was visited 380,000 times in 2022 and the park received several awards, including the Culture Prize and Visitor Attraction of the Year.
Mr Venters told the Guardian he thinks there is a “civic duty” for the public and private sectors to ensure there is “a very healthy cultural and economic country in every part of Britain”.
The Groucho Club was the brainchild of a group of publishers, including Carmen Callil, Ed Victor and Liz Calder and literary agent Michael Sissons, who wanted a comfortable, intimate and stylish place to meet, work and socialize.
It was also known as Gennaro’s, an Italian restaurant where the royal family dined alongside opera stars, but which had fallen into disrepair for years before becoming The Groucho Club.
Other luxury clubs have also moved to the north of England, including Sessions Arts Club, which opened a new retreat near Inverness, and Soho House, which is opening in Manchester.
Ewan Venters, CEO of Artfarm and Hauser & Wirth supported the decision to move north before venturing to America
Mr Venters told the Guardian he thinks there is a “civic duty” for the public and private sectors to ensure there is “a very healthy cultural and economic country in every part of Britain”. Pictured: Damien Lewis, an actor and musician, at The Groucho in 2005
The Groucho Club was the brainchild of a group of publishers, including Carmen Callil, Ed Victor and Liz Calder and literary agent Michael Sissons, who wanted a comfortable, intimate and stylish place to meet, work and socialize. Pictured: Denise Welch leaves the club in 2004
Other luxury clubs have also moved to the north of England, including Sessions Arts Club, which opened a new retreat near Inverness, and Soho House, which is opening in Manchester. Pictured: Chelsea Clinton on a night out when she visited the Groucho Club in 2001
Mr Venters said the new location is different to Soho House and hopes the history of the 500-acre park will attract members from London to explore Yorkshire’s greenery.
He hopes the next step will attract members from Manchester and nearby Leeds. Mr Venters added that there is no specific demographic group being considered for the location.
Mr Venters said: ‘Yorkshire couldn’t be more multicultural and diverse so it would be wrong to pigeonhole it and say it’s about a 30 to 50 year old person working in the creative industries.’
The Groucho Club was sold in 2022 in a deal worth £40 million to Iwan and Manuela Wirth, whose company Artfarm owns world-famous contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth and venues such as Roth Bar & Grill in Bruton, Somerset.
When it was sold, Mr Venters vowed to return to the “eclectic appeal and non-conformist ethos” that appealed to the likes of Freddie Mercury and Queen’s Liza Minnelli.
Before the sale, it was reported that some members felt the location had ‘lost its unique look’ as it opened its membership to company town types.
