Another day, another private members’ club popping onto the scene.
Selfridges, the department store chain dotted across the U.K., just received approval to open its own swanky club at its London flagship, joining the proliferation of high-end membership programs popping up around the globe. The store plans to turn some of its current employee office space on the fourth floor into an exclusive locale featuring a terrace and a private dining room, Bloomberg reported.
The Westminster City Council gave the proposal from Selfridges, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Thailand’s Central Group, its seal of approval on Tuesday. That means the department store can use its space on Duke Street, built in the 1930s, as a members’ club or a retail hub for 50 years, according to the brand’s filing.
The store has its sight sets on more than just a club, though: The team plans to create a “exclusive new shopping and social destination for its most valued customers and members,” Bloomberg reported. Additional details about the new members’ only locale have yet to be announced—for now, at least.
Selfridges is only the latest members’ club to pop onto the scene in the London. Besides an increased demand for private spaces among the well-heeled in the era of remote work, real estate firms also see these clubs as a way to invest in properties that may otherwise not be reaching their full potential.
The idea of a members’ only establishment, in the modern sense of the phrase, was born on British soil, when Georgian-era coffee houses blossomed into a more formal spot for men to shmooze. That trickled over to America later in the 19th century, when the country’s wealthy visited clubs like the Knickerbocker. After the trend petered out as the UHNW moved to the suburbs, members’ clubs have since flood cities once again, with places such as 67 Pall Mall, Arts Club Dubai, Maxime’s, and ZZ’s Club spouting up across the world—including a hot spot just for your dog. Even Jean-Georges Vongerichten has gotten in on the game, opening his Chez Margaux club last year. As for the grand reveal of the Selfridges club, we’ll just have to wait and see.
