Magazine Compilation: Private members' clubs

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David Cameron toasted the Tories’ surprise election win by taking Samantha out for dinner not at a restaurant, where they might have been mobbed but at a private members’ club where they were guaranteed privacy.

Mark’s Club, where Dave and Sam were joined by First Secretary of State George Osborne, is located in a Mayfair townhouse and was created by another old Etonian, the late Mark Birley.

Birley was the renowned founder of Annabel’s, named after his wife, which opened in the swinging sixties. And his Birley Group club empire, which includes Harry’s Bar was snapped up by businessman Richard Caring in 2007.

The entrepreneur has overseen a lavish revamp at Mark’s Club which included asking all 2,500 members to re-apply, a move Vanity Fair reported had excised a third of the West End club’s clients.

Such bullish behaviour might raise a few eyebrows but in clubland it’s always been part of the game businessmen thrive on, opening up new clubs to mop up clients who have found doors closed elsewhere. Take the Groucho in Soho – named after the Marx brother who said he would not belong to a club that would have him as a member.

In the noughties the trend continued with Home House and Soho House, now an international chain, and the expansion of the private members’ club world shows no sign of slowing down in the 21st century. The very newest clubs like 5 Hertford Street, owned by Mark’s son Robin Birley, appeal to the diverse international population which floats through the city. Its members include celebrities, hedge fund managers and Conservative networkers. “The 5 Hertford club, with Loulou’s downstairs, appeals across generations,” says Jonathan Hewlett, Savills director.

Though still all run on a home-from-home basis, the new clubs pose no threat to the institutions which evolved in 18th century London from the coffee houses clustered in and around St James’s; Brooks’s, Boodles and White’s, among others. By Victorian times London had some 400 private members’ clubs where men could spend their time in grand buildings by the architects of Britain’s finest country houses, eating, drinking, gambling, and avoiding women – apart from the prostitutes.

Even today the old guard of St James’s clubs carry on providing a place for members to escape from real life, with butlers, libraries, smoking rooms where you can’t smoke and restaurants serving very superior boarding school dinners. Are they becoming obsolete? Not at all. “They have survived for 300 years, they can survive a trendy decade or two,” says Mayfair agent, Peter Wetherell.

The old clubs boast members of the world’s very innermost elites and now only a few don’t admit women – allegedly the reason Cameron resigned from White’s. Many maintain their exclusivity by a complicated and often nepotistic membership policy. Fees may be modest but getting up to 35 members to propose you and the board’s agreement can be tricky.

Astute hoteliers, restaurateurs and entrepreneurs like Caring have realised there is a market for clubs that are “open for business” and the new clubs are designed for a non-elite crowd; modern Londoners of all persuasions and pockets and they are definitely places designed for networking.

“One of the big differences in the old clubs is that you were not allowed to conduct business there,” says Hewlett. “Anyway, members were not in trade.”

“Clubs maximise time-poor days. They are a solution to success combined with long working hours that make being on site so attractive,” says Wetherell.

There seems to be something for everyone. The City of London has lots of spaces to serve the hard-working hedge fund manager, including Searcys in the Gherkin, for cocktails and a great view. The Frontline Club in Paddington and The Hospital Club in Covent Garden are networking emporia, and the Hospital Club holds daily film screenings. KX Chelsea and Luca del Bono’s new South Kensington Club are dedicated to health and fitness: luxurious gyms with members’ clubs attached. For the wine connoisseur, there’s a new club at 67 Pall Mall.

The winning formula appears to be two bars, a restaurant and function rooms. Butlers are helpful but WiFi is essential. New clubs often start with an iconic interior like Rifat Ozbek’s dining room at 5 Hertford or Zaha Hadid’s bar at Home House, Portman Square.

As with Mark’s Club, old clubs are getting makeovers. In 2010 the Dover Street Arts Club in Mayfair was blinged up and the old gentry were ejected by rising membership prices. That hasn’t happened at the Chelsea Arts Club with its saggy sofas and mediocre food. But the threat remains, according to members who are reminded by a sign not to speak to the press.

Many people in London join a club for professional reasons rather than proximity. And developers are starting to take advantage of this in new developments such as Battersea Power Station, Ten Trinity and The Heron, near Shoreditch, which all have private members’ clubs. Lillie Square in Earl’s Court is the latest new development to announce a clubhouse for residents, including a pool, spa, lounge area, private dining room and screening cinema.

The Heron’s club is typical of what is provided: a stylish bar with café dining, a cinema, private rooms and business facilities plus a gym with personal trainers.

“It is used as a private space that’s divorced from the apartment,” says Wetherell. “Like going out without leaving the building.”

The best private members' club in London and abroad

Gentlemen’s relish

The Travellers Club, Pall Mall

Once members had to have “travelled out of the British Isles to a distance of at least 500 miles from London in a straight line”. So almost anyone arriving at City Airport would qualify now. In reality it’s not so. “Our nomination process acts as a waiting list,” said a representative.

Reform Club, Pall Mall

The Reform Acts led to the first massive expansion of private members’ clubs. The Reform Club, founded in 1836, became the HQ for the fledgling Liberal Party. In 1981, long before any of the other traditional clubs, the Reform Club changed its rules to allow women to become members.

White's, St James’s

Founded by an Italian named Bianco in 1693, it’s the original old boys’ club. White’s boasts of being the hardest club to get into, not because of the fees – £850 a year – but the fact you must be vouched for by 35 members. David Cameron is reported to have left because of the club’s men-only policy. He is allegedly the only member ever to have resigned of his own free will.

Networking Centres

The Frontline Club, Paddington

The networking centre for journalists and media people. It has a restaurant, bar and private rooms, plus it offers an active social calendar with many training courses. Bedroom rates are reasonable and there’s reciprocal membership of clubs in America and Hong Kong.

The Hospital Club, Covent Garden

Located on the site of an 18th century hospital, the club was co-founded by Microsoft chief Paul Allen and Eurythmics musician David Stewart. It encourages new talent and hosts the hClub100, which is dedicated to spotting new creatives.

Dover Street Arts Club, Mayfair

Close to the top West End galleries, the club draws members from a wide circle, including the arts and business worlds. A makeover in 2010 did not go down well with some of the older members who found themselves priced out by new fees and out of love with the new marble interiors.

International

Above Sixty, New York

Enjoy views of the Empire State Building from this Soho club. If you’re a guest at the hotel, you’re in luck – entry is open to those who have a hotel booking but if you’re hoping to stick around, be advised, membership is by invitation only.

Soho House, Berlin

With a lobby created by Damien Hirst, this is the latest of the Soho House group of clubs – there are others in London, New York, Istanbul, Miami and Hollywood. Just booking a room in the hotel gets you into the club.

Club Silencio, Paris

The only club that can claim David Lynch as its designer, this is a clone of the club in Mulholland Drive. You might get a table after midnight but membership is more tricky.

The Clubhouse, Buenos Aires

Private club par excellence. You won’t be given its address until you are on the guest list. If you manage to find it, look out for the Andy Warhol originals.