How Soho House became a shadow of its former self and was abandoned by members like me

As it is announced that the club that once defined cool has been snapped up by a new owner, can it ever recover from being ruined by reality stars and finance bros, asks soon-to-be former member, Gina Jackson.

The rooftop pools at the various outposts of Soho House (Soho House Amsterdam pictured) are often a highlight of a visit (Soho House Amsterdam )

Earlier this week, I found an email from Andrew Carnie, Soho House’s CEO, sitting in my inbox. Not a personal note, of course – I’m one of thousands of recipients. The email announced that after four rocky years on the market, Soho House is to return to private ownership.

On paper, the brand’s growth over the last few years has been impressive. What began as a single townhouse in 1995 has ballooned into 46 members’ clubs worldwide, complete with hotel rooms, co-working spaces and restaurants. Yet the market tells a different story. Since going public in 2021, stock has fallen by around 30 per cent.

Four new clubs are in the immediate pipeline, including Soho House Manchester, a third Barcelona outpost and Soho House Tokyo opening in Spring 2026, and membership has hit 213,621 as of June this year. This week it was announced that a £2 billion deal had been reached, with Soho House being snapped up by MCR Hotels, backed by Apollo, Goldman Sachs and Hollywood A-lister Ashton Kutcher, who will join the board. For better or worse, this signals a new chapter for the club that once defined cool.

Set inside an 18th-century building in the city’s Gothic Quarter, Soho House Barcelona has a rooftop bar and several beautiful spaces for relaxing (Soho House Barcelona)

Soho House was very much a part of my early career. I became a member in 2018 when I had just graduated from university. I was 22 years old and had just landed my first job in marketing. At the time, membership at Soho House was the ultimate status symbol for a creative. Evenings were spent sipping picantes by the rooftop pool at Shoreditch House, while a weekend at Soho Farmhouse was the ultimate flex. Friends and clients would beg me to book dinners at one of the clubs so they could experience the magic. If you had a Soho House membership, you had something everyone else wanted.

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Founded by restaurateur Nick Jones, Soho House launched itself as the antithesis to Mayfair’s stuffy, traditionalist clubs, offering instead a seat at the table among the city’s bright young things. Yes, the service was a bit patchy and the food somewhat forgettable, but that was besides the point. You were paying to rub shoulders with stylish, interesting members in stylish, interesting spaces around the globe.

There were impromptu performances by emerging musicians, supper clubs hosted by renowned chefs and career talks with the industry’s movers and shakers. I had friends-of-friends I barely knew asking me for referrals; the allure was that not everyone could get through the door. But where magazine editors and fashion insiders once filled the lounges, reality TV stars and finance bros have since taken over, and that secret sauce has long gone.

The shift became undeniable in 2021, when Soho House announced it was going public: with that, the membership floodgates opened. Suddenly, virtually anyone could apply, diluting the brand’s hard-won mystique; exclusivity, after all, doesn’t scale. When I joined, the member application process was fairly rigorous: prospective members needed two referrals from existing members, plus a short cover letter. Today, the application process does not even require a referral.

Today, the application process does not even require a referral (Soho House)

The change hasn’t all been bad, though. With its public offering came intense scrutiny of the club’s (predominantly white, middle-class) cliente; as a result, a new guard has been ushered in, along with initiatives to champion diversity, such as an Inclusivity Board. Elizabeth, an assistant producer who joined in 2022, after the Initial Public Offering (IPO) says: “I don’t think Soho House has lost its charm. I prefer that it seems to have lost its snobby nature.”

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Yet, as I approach my 30th birthday, I’m thinking of renouncing my membership. Once I hit that milestone, my half-price privileges will be revoked (members who join before the age of 27 benefit from half-price fees along with a suite of other discounts). Given that monthly membership fees have crept steadily upwards since 2021 – I now pay a discounted rate of £108.33 per month, but members joining at the Under 27 rate today will pay £162.50 per month – and when I first joined, I paid £79 per month. Once I hit 30, it will seem silly to pay double the price for access to a club that I barely go to anymore.

Jonathan, a broadcast journalist and member for 21 years, remains mostly positive about the club’s offering, but admits that the intended market is being priced out.

“Soho House was always meant to be for creatives; exclusive but not elite. For those already established, and importantly also for those setting out in film, music and TV. The prices – especially in clubs such as Soho Farmhouse – seem more suited to Posh and Becks than movie runners or script writers hoping for their big break.”

Over the last few years, I have retained my membership primarily to use the gym at White City House – admittedly an impressive space. But where previously the clubs were go-to destinations for after-work drinks, they’ve now been downgraded to pit stops: somewhere to kill time between meetings or dash in for a loo break. On the rare occasion I’ve dropped into one of the clubs, I’ve spent a good half-hour circling the floor for a seat, only to be swiftly shooed away by staff the moment I open my laptop.

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There are monthly screenings and events, but thanks to the sheer number of members, most are booked up almost instantly. What used to be considered unmissable, such as Soho House’s annual summer festival, has also lost its lustre. Once a two-day, bells-and-whistles affair and the hottest ticket of the season, this year it was pared back to a single day and was more of an opportunity for big agencies to schmooze clients. These days, the glamorous fashion set are chasing entry to Mayfair’s Maison Estelle or The Twenty Two. Otherwise, it’s membership to the all-frills fitness club Third Space that everyone wants.

Writer Gina Jackson loves the hotels owned by the Soho House group (Soho House Istanbul)

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Sophie, a freelance social media strategist who quit shortly after the 2021 changes, shares my sentiment: “Events were almost impossible to book, and spaces were overcrowded. With new houses opening everywhere, it didn’t feel exclusive anymore. If anything, it felt like they were trying to attract new members, and [in doing so ] it lost that original charm.”

I’ve considered downgrading to Soho Friends membership: a cheaper alternative without club, gym or event access, but with hotel stays still included. The hotels are, in my opinion, Soho House’s best asset. I’ve stayed at 13 of them worldwide and enjoy the perks: Cowshed body lotions, homemade cookies, make-your-own G&T bars, ridiculously fluffy bathrobes and stylish interiors. It’s a package many rivals have tried and failed to replicate. That said, service varies wildly: sparkling in Istanbul, but dire at London’s Dean Street Townhouse, where a soggy Sunday roast is served with attitude and a 13.5 per cent service charge.

We’ll see whether the move back to private ownership signals a return to Soho House’s original roots. For me, it’s hard to justify sticking with a club that once felt like the place to be but now feels more like a shadow of its former self. One thing’s for sure: for the price they’re charging, the sparkle’s gone, and likely so am I.

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