Soho House to go public with New York float

Private club operator Soho House is coming to public markets with an IPO in New York. The float onto the New York Stock Exchange, under the moniker Membership Collective Group, aims to set a valuation of around US$3bn. It follows on from a 2020 funding round that raised US$100mln and valued the group at US$2bn. Nick Jones, Soho House founder and chief executive, told members that the IPO proceeds would accelerate investment in improving both physical and digital elements of their membership. The group’s members, some 100,000 of them worldwide, are being given the opportunity to buy shares in the offering. Soho House was founded in London by Nick Jones in 1995 who subsequently sold on the big portion of his shares the business in 2008, before US billionaire Ron Burkle took a controlling stake in 2015. Presently, the group comprises 28 members-only clubs and restaurants. The clubs, which cost each member more than £1,000 per year and have a near 50,000 person membership wait list, are believed to have retained the majority of its customers during the pandemic, with around 92% retention despite lockdown. Revenues reduced to US$384mln from US$642mln, and it made a US$235mln loss. Prior to the float the company is 60% owned by Burkle whilst Jones retains around 10% and The Ivy owner Richard Caring holds around 30%.