It was about six months into his ownership of the crumbling Camden Palace that it dawned on Olly Bengough he may have bitten off more than he could chew. “It was a wet, miserable London night in November 2004 and I was standing in the doorway looking at the rain falling in the glistening puddles,” he says. “There was no one on the streets and there were about 10 people on the dance floor. There were literally more staff than customers. At that point I just didn’t know if we were going to make it.”
It was a sobering moment for an entrepreneur who was about to sink £2 million of his own money and bank loans — “a huge amount for us” — into rescuing one of the great historic music venues of the capital. Now, two major refurbishments and more than £70 million later, the Grade II listed building has been reborn as revived public music venue Koko and a new private members’ club, House of Koko. It is celebrating its 125th anniversary as one of the most lauded and successful hospitality and entertainment brands not only in London, but across Europe.
