Private members’ club Home House is planning to open a second site in Clerkenwell in the hope of signing up a new group of young Londoners.
The owners of the West End venue are due to complete a deal imminently to take over the Old Sessions House on Clerkenwell Green, making it the latest in a long line of members’ clubs opening in and around the area.
Tech professionals have been signing up to the clubs in droves with the continued rise of Tech City just to the east, where companies including Facebook and Google are based.
With office space in the area sparse and meeting room fees rising, many in the digital sector are looking for more relaxed environments to meet contacts. It would seem that Home House hopes to cash in on the trend.
The current members’ club has been operating from its 18th century townhouse in Portman Square since it was restored in 1998.
In 2004 it was bought by a group of private investors, who took over the neighbouring building to create a more contemporary setting.
A source close to Home House said: “Bosses have always been keen to expand, but it was always a case of trying to find a building suitable to match the current club.”
Despite the recession, members’ clubs have managed to maintain fairly steady levels of membership.
Home House claimed to have avoided a drop in membership and reintroduced a waiting list, with many businessmen and women keen to use the site as an alternative venue for meetings.
The new site in Clerkenwell goes back over 1000 years and was once the largest courthouse in England.
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