Members' Clubs
The Groucho Club
Founded in 1985 for members and their guests to meet, eat, drink and sleep in
Soho, The Groucho Club has since become either famous or infamous, depending on
your point of view. The Club’s bars are acknowledged as the very best in Soho,
there are two high-quality restaurants serving modern, seasonal food and 19
comfortable bedrooms. Investment in the product included what has become an
important collection of British art with over 150 pieces, with works by Tracey
Emin and Damien Hirst amongst others.
As a result of Longshot’s takeover in 2000, The Groucho has been busier than ever
with more than 4000 members, a membership waiting list and turnover up by 15%
year on year. However it still exudes an atmosphere of having been a Soho
institution forever.
‘I don’t care to join a club that will accept me as a member’
Groucho Marx
The Kings Club / Andrew Robson Bridge Club
Longshot transformed the ‘dead space’ above The Goat in Boots to create The
King’s Club, an evening members club which, in a relatively short space of time,
boasted 2000 members. Along with The Goat in Boots and Vingt Quatre, the
foundation of The Kings Club was instrumental in the revolution of a small strip
of the Fulham Road, subsequently known as ‘The Beach’, where property values
exploded.
Longshot were also instrumental in the creation of a new style of bridge club.
The Andrew Robson Bridge Club was set up as a joint venture with the World
Champion and soon had over 1000 members. With over 3 million players in the UK
and 220 million players worldwide, bridge has become the game to play for young
and old alike. Due to overwhelming success and growth, the club moved to its own
dedicated premises in 1997.
‘The club has a wholesome feel: large, uncluttered spaces, dotted
with plants and paintings, where the emphasis is on mental stimulation in a
comfortable, relaxed environment’ The Resident magazine