Private club · Members' clubs
The Groucho Club
Not stated in the club's own words on its public pages. Wikipedia records that the club favours applicants from creative media and the arts, the constituency it was founded to serve.
A profile page holds what the organization publishes and what named sources report: who it admits, what it costs, how it is structured, where it operates, and how it has changed. Every figure carries the date it was checked. A dash means the organization does not publish that fact.
Founding — Opened on 5 May 1985 at 45 Dean Street, Soho; named after Groucho Marx's remark about not wanting to belong to a club that would have him as a member
The Groucho Club is a private members' club at 45 Dean Street in Soho, London, which opened on 5 May 1985 as an alternative to the formal St James's clubs and drew its early membership from publishing, media and the arts. It occupies a Soho building with bars, restaurants, a snooker room, an enclosed terrace, event rooms and bedrooms for members and their guests. Ownership has changed several times: Graphite Capital held it from 2006, a group led by Isfield Investments and Alcuin Capital Partners bought it in 2015, and Artfarm, the hospitality company of the gallerists Manuela and Iwan Wirth, acquired it in 2022 in a deal reported at £40 million. In November 2024 the Metropolitan Police applied for a summary review of the club's premises licence following an alleged rape at the venue; Westminster City Council's licensing sub-committee granted an interim suspension on 26 November and lifted it on 18 December 2024 after the club agreed additional conditions on member and guest admission, record-keeping, welfare training and supervision. Membership rates are published in four bands.
How it works
Members use a single Soho clubhouse with bars, dining rooms, a snooker room and bedrooms, and can hire private event spaces. Applications are made through the club's online membership portal, which sets out four rate bands: under 35, London, Country and Overseas. Wikipedia records that applicants must be proposed by two existing members.
Typical member
Historically writers, publishers, broadcasters, musicians and artists. The club publishes no occupational test on its public pages.
Membership requirements
Requirements in detail, with history →Requirements are the tests the organization itself publishes — an age ceiling, a company-revenue floor, a net-worth minimum, a role. Where a figure straddles a range, the organization's own assessment decides. Local chapters can apply stricter tests than the published standard.
| Criterion | Published requirement | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsorship | Applicants must be proposed by two existing members | Verified September 2026Medium confidenceSource ↗ |
| Maximum age at joining | Under 35 rate band, described as "Age 35 and Under" | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ |
| Geographic restriction | Country and Overseas rates require the member to live outside London | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ |
| Industry restriction | Applicants from creative media and the arts are favoured | Verified September 2026Low confidenceSource ↗ |
Published criteria as verified on the dates shown. Final eligibility and admission decisions belong entirely to The Groucho Club. See how you compare against these criteria →
Initiation fees are paid once on joining; dues recur. Chapter dues, retreats, travel and events are usually additional and are listed separately when the organization discloses them. Figures are as published or reported on the date shown — not quotations.
| Cost | First year | Three years | Provenance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual duesa year | £1,500 | £4,500 | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ | |
| Annual duesa year | £880 | alternative tier, not added | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ | |
| Annual duesa year | £1,100 | alternative tier, not added | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ | |
| Annual duesa year | £880 | alternative tier, not added | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ | |
| Monthly duesa month, counted ×12 | £1,190 | £3,570 | Verified September 2026High confidenceSource ↗ | |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed; no joining fee appears on the club's application portal | Source ↗ | ||
| Estimated total, disclosed figures only | £2,690 | £8,070 | Not counted: Annual dues (3 alternative tiers, not added), Initiation fee. | |
Structure and programming
Where it operates
1 cities with a page on this site| Chapter or location | City |
|---|---|
| The Groucho Club clubhouse | London |
Independent context
The Groucho is the cheapest club in this batch and the only one whose full rate card sits behind a plain online form: £1,500 a year for a London member over 35 and £880 for anyone 35 or under, with a monthly payment option and no joining fee shown. It is a creative-industries club rather than a business one, with no workspace offer and no professional programming, so its value to a working member is contacts rather than facilities. Two things deserve weight before joining. The 2022 sale to Artfarm put the club inside an art-world hospitality group and prompted concern among longstanding members about changes of tone, and the 2024 licence review resulted in binding new conditions on admissions, guest records and welfare after a serious incident on the premises. Both are matters of public record rather than rumour.
Editorial analysis by Peer Group Guide editors. It is separated from the record above and follows the editorial policy.
Similar organizations
Alternatives, grouped by need →History and changes
Site-wide change log →- milestoneThe Groucho Club opened at 45 Dean Street, Soho ↗
- mergerGraphite Capital acquired the club ↗
- milestoneSold to a group of investors led by Isfield Investments and Alcuin Capital Partners ↗
- mergerAcquired by Artfarm, the hospitality company of Manuela and Iwan Wirth, in a deal reported at £40 million ↗
- milestoneAnnounced a first site outside London at Bretton Hall, Yorkshire ↗
- milestoneWestminster City Council's licensing sub-committee granted an interim suspension of the club's premises licence, applied for by the Metropolitan Police following an alleged rape… ↗
- milestoneThe suspension was lifted after the club agreed additional licence conditions covering admission of members and guests, record-keeping, welfare training and supervision of toilet… ↗
Milestones as published by the organization or reported by a named source. “Record” entries are changes to this site’s own record of the organization, kept in the public change log rather than overwritten.
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Sources
- The Groucho Club — Private Members Club, Soho, The Groucho Club. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 1
- Memberships — The Groucho Club, The Groucho Club. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 3
- The Groucho Club, Wikipedia. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 8
- Groucho Club to Reopen Following Alleged Rape, Francis Taylor Building (counsel for the Metropolitan Police in the proceedings), December 2024. Accessed 6 September 2026.tier 8
Source tiers follow the published hierarchy: 1 official site · 2 official membership materials · 3 application documents · 4 annual reports · 5 government filings · 6 reliable business publications · 7 credible interviews · 8 other reputable secondary sources. Sources and data policy.
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Represent The Groucho Club? Verified representatives can submit corrections to fees, criteria, chapters and contact details, and add approved material. Submissions are reviewed by an editor and shown as organization-supplied; they never overwrite independent research.