The Groucho Club will be allowed to reopen after a controversial council meeting in which its license was reinstated, as long as the 39-year-old establishment follows strict police regulations to observe rules on guest members and monitor toilets.
The license of the private party in London was temporarily suspended after it was alleged that a woman was kidnapped inside the venue on November 13. A 34-year-old man was arrested in Hertfordshire on suspicion of robbery and taken into custody.
On Wednesday, the city of Westminster’s licensing subcommittee lifted the suspension with immediate effect, provided the club complies with new licensing conditions that will be decided at a later date.
Groucho shouted to the staff to announce his ruling party. A representative for the club, which counts many A-list celebrities among its members, said an announcement about the club’s future was expected on Wednesday evening.
At the hearing, the Metropolitan Police made 13 recommendations for the new license conditions, including properly supervising the toilet areas, ensuring utility training and tightening “previously lax procedures” for members and guests. Discussions about the police investigation were held in private.
The club, in Dean Street, Soho, was founded in 1985 and has been frequented by a succession of artists, writers and musicians. It got its name from Groucho Marx, who famously said that he did not want to belong to any club that would have him as a member.
It accepted female members, which was anathema to male members of the London club, encouraged by . birth membership which included members of Blur and artists such as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Francis Bacon.
After the police investigation began, the chief executive of the Groucho Club, Elli Jafari, wrote to members apologizing for the temporary closure and said he would accept a license review. “Very seriously”.
The temporary closure of the club, which costs up to £1,500 a year to join and has 5,000 members, was announced as the lucrative festive season began.
Its owners, Artfarm, are run by gallerists Manuela and Iwan Wirth, keen to attract a younger clientele, and the club announced in March that it was planning to do so. to open a new station at Bretton Hall in Wakefield, which will be converted into a club and hotel with approximately 60 rooms.