Famous London celebrity haunt the Groucho club has been forced to close over allegations that it is involved in ‘serious crime’.
Westminster City Council suspended the Soho club’s licence with immediate effect following a request from the Met Police.
A notice has also been posted on the club’s window saying that ‘the Police believe that the premises have failed to uphold the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective’
The Groucho has now closed its doors as it cooperates with the committee and accepts their decision.
The Met Police say that the application was made ‘on the grounds that the venue had breached its licensing conditions and had been the scene of a recent serious criminal offence’.
Originally conceived in the 1980s as a bohemian antidote to the stuffiness of traditional private members’ clubs, the club has hosted the likes of Bill Clinton and Kate Moss through its doors at 45 Dean Street.
A council spokesperson told : ‘Following a request from the Metropolitan Police and with the agreement of the operator, the Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee has decided to suspend The Groucho Club’s licence with immediate effect on the basis that the Premises is associated with serious crime.’
‘This decision follows reports that a serious crime may have taken place at the Premises in circumstances linked to a breach in the Premises licencing conditions.
‘The allegations are subject to an ongoing police investigation and we cannot comment further at this stage.’
A full hearing will now be held by the council’s licencing sub-committee. It must take place within 28 days of the date the Police submitted the review application.
The club, which has been a magnet for A-listers for 39 years, has hosted famous visitors including George Michael, Bono, Rita Ora, Cara Delevingne, Lily Allen and Noel Gallagher among many others.
The fashionable central London joint, where artist Damien Hirst once put his £20,000 Turner Prize winnings behind the bar, now has thousands of members.
A spokesperson for the Groucho told The Standard: ‘We have received an application to review our licence which we take very seriously.
‘As a consequence, the club’s licence has been suspended by agreement with Westminster City Council, and we have made the decision to close the club pending a full hearing before Christmas.’
The Met Police added: ‘On Wednesday, 26 November, a Westminster Council licensing hearing ruled that the licence for The Groucho Club should be suspended for up to 28 days, until a full hearing can take place.
‘The suspension will take effect immediately and follows an application made by the Metropolitan Police Service on the grounds that the venue had breached its licensing conditions and had been the scene of a recent serious criminal offence.
‘The investigation into that offence is ongoing and as a result, there is a limit to the detail that can be provided. Today’s hearing was held in private for the same reason.
‘Further details will be released when possible.’
The Groucho gained its first ever female CEO earlier this year, announcing plans to open a new venues in Wakefield, West Yorkshire
And just months ago Ewan Venters, the CEO of its parent company Antfarm and former head of Fortnum and Mason, revealed he was leaving the company.
The Groucho Club was the brainchild of a group of publishers including Carmen Callil, Ed Victor and Liz Calder and literary agent Michael Sissons, who wanted somewhere comfortable, intimate and stylish to meet, work and socialise.
It was also known as once Gennaro’s, an Italian restaurant where royalty dined alongside opera stars, but had fallen into disrepair years before it became The Groucho Club.
According to the official Groucho Club history, there were also ‘tales of dark deeds’ at the building, including a shooting in one of the rooms which is said to be haunted to this day.
After initially struggling to find investment, the club was eventually funded by a group of some 400 publishers, artists and media types.
The prospectus, which included cartoons by Quentin Blake, presented a vision for an all-day drinking and dining establishment open to men and women where there would be a bar, restaurant and eventually bedrooms.
The Groucho Club was sold in 2022 in a deal worth £40million to Iwan and Manuela Wirth, whose company Artfarm owns the world-renowned contemporary art gallery Hauser & Wirth and venues such as Roth Bar & Grill in Bruton, Somerset.
When it was sold, Mr Venters promised to return to the ‘eclectic appeal and maverick ethos’ that appealed to the likes of Queen’s Freddie Mercury and Liza Minnelli.
Before the sale, it was reported that some members felt the venue had ‘lost its unique feel’ as it opened its membership up to corporate city types.