Soho House files for IPO

Soho House has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in New York under the name Membership Collective Group Inc.

In an email to members, founder Nick Jones said the move would enable the global group, which was founded in Soho, to “accelerate our investment in improving both the physical and digital elements of your membership”.

Though no valuation was given in the filings, according to reports, the private members group could be valued by as much as $3bn.

Its largest shareholders include The Ivy and Bill’s backer Richard Caring (30% stake), American retail billionaire Ron Burkle (61%), with Nick Jones holding 9% of company shares.

The three are not expected to sell any shares in the listing, with only a primary offering of new shares.

The funds raised are expected to be used to reduce the group’s debt and accelerate expansion.

It is targeting five to seven new Soho House clubs a year and an average of one Scorpios and The Ned a year.

In the first quarter of this year, its revenues totalled $72m, compared with $142m in the first three months of last year, while its net losses doubled to $93m.

J.P.Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and HSBC are joint book runners for the offering. Citibank and William Blair will serve as a co-managers.

MCG began operating as Soho House in 1995 and now has members across physical and digital spaces, including multiple Soho House and The Ned in London. As of April 4, the group had over 119,000 members.