The smell of fresh paint still lingers as Soho House founder and chief executive Nick Jones walks into his newest club, Little House Balham, which opens later this month. He is a jolly sort, a little tousled, and is all smiles and laughter as he immediately sets about changing things. One of the walls needs a change; staff are summoned down to tweak the loos with a cheery bellow that rumbles up the stairwell. A small team follow him loyally; Jones is king.
This is his first visit to the site in three weeks and his first time seeing it in the flesh since its completion but he says “there’s nothing in here which is a surprise to me, because I’ve been part of the whole journey”. He characterises his working style as “dipping in and out”, fine-tweaking things to taste as he goes along. It’s something he’s done for every Soho House so far. There are 36 now, everywhere from Mykonos to Mumbai — “but it sounds more impressive than it is, because we have a brilliant team and I can literally dip in and out. And even if I didn’t, it would still be pretty good!”
