The Groucho Club, the London member’s club owned by the founders of Hauser & Wirth gallery, has been allowed to reopen following an alleged rape at the Soho venue.
The club was temporarily shut down and its licence put under review last month while police investigated allegations of a “serious criminal offence” on its premises on 13 November. It later emerged that a 34-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman at the venue (he has reportedly been bailed until February).
Westminster Council revoked the club’s licence on 26 November for 28 days at the request of the Metropolitan police. At a meeting of the licensing committee yesterday, the club’s licence was reinstated subject to conditions to improve safety.
According to a BBC report, the committee said “new conditions agreed between the police and Groucho’s management meant the club could reopen as long as members were limited to inviting four guests on to the premises and accompanied them at all times”. Customer toilets must also be checked every half an hour.
The BBC writes that Gary Grant, representing the Met Police yesterday, cited three concerns about how the club was managed: “Firstly, lax procedures on the admission of members and guests and the recording of who was in their premises…Secondly, insufficient welfare training and procedures that required improvement…Thirdly, the inadequacy of the supervision of the toilet areas.”
According to the BBC, Grant added that “other serious matters” had been raised at a portion of the meeting closed to the public.
“We have been working closely with the police and Westminster City Council over the past few weeks and we are pleased that the temporary suspension of our licence has been lifted,” a spokesperson for the Groucho Club tells The Art Newspaper.
“We are grateful to our members and staff for their continued patience and support and to the Metropolitan Police and Westminster City Council for their collaboration. We look forward to welcoming members and guests back to the Groucho Club on 10 January, when the club will reopen following our usual Christmas closure period.”
A majority stake in the Groucho, long popular with celebrities, artists and the media world, was bought in 2022 by Artfarm, Iwan and Manuela Wirth’s hospitality business, for a reported £40m. It is run separately from other businesses in the Artfarm portfolio, which includes The Fife Arms in Scotland, The Audley in Mayfair and various venues in Bruton, Somerset.
