Soaring labour costs and inflation have resulted in a big drop in underlying profits at the Groucho Club, latest accounts reveal today.
Earnings at the Soho haunt fell 41% from £1.7 million to £1 million last year, despite the venue being able to return to near normal trading after the pandemic.
Accounts for Groucho Club Ltd filed at Companies House show that turnover jumped 47% from £5.4 million to £7.9 million in 2022.
But it blamed wages and other costs for a decline in underlying earnings.
The company said the “post-pandemic hospitality market remains challenging, however the performance of the club has demonstrated a strong return to ‘business as usual’ through the year...despite significant inflationary pressure on labour and cost of sales.”
Bottom-line profits improved, though this was mostly due to the write-off of £27 million worth of intercompany loans as the business was acquired by new owners last year.
The Dean Street landmark, founded in 1985 and which has included Noel Gallagher, Rachel Weisz, Lily Allen and Stephen Fry among its members, was sold to Swiss-owned Artfarm last August.
It installed former Fortnum & Mason boss Ewan Venters as its chief executive. Artfarm, owned by art dealers Iwan and Manuela Wirth, also run the Audley public house in Mayfair.
Earlier this year, Artfarm disbanded the Groucho’s membership committee as it seeks to attract a younger clientele.
Membership to The Groucho Club, open only to those who work in the “creative industries”, costs £1,250 per year plus a £500 joining fee. Those hoping to join also must be proposed and seconded by two existing members.
