Soho House Founder Nick Jones has said the private members’ club group is expected to move into net profit in the near future.
“Each house is individually profitable. If we stopped building we’d become instantly net profitable, but because we’re continually building and making our houses better, we’re still at a net loss – but not for much longer,” said Jones, speaking at the International Hospitality Investment Forum (IHIF) in Berlin on 5 May 2022.
Soho House is part of The Membership Collective Group (MCG), of which Jones is a Director of the Board. MCG listed on the New York Stock Exchange last year, a move that had been anticipated for years.
For the 2021 fiscal year Membership Collective Group Inc. posted a net loss of $265.4 million. Total revenues increased by 46% year-over-year to $560.6 million, which it attributed to its ‘member-first focus’.
Soho House has more than 122,000 members, 25% of which are under the age of 27. Membership for the 2021 fiscal year increased by 31% and membership revenues increased by 7%, accounting for 34% of total revenues. The membership waiting list also exceeded 70,000 for the first time.
Meanwhile, Jones confirmed rumours of plans to launch a digital membership: “Lots of businesses, friendships, relationships have been created by a Soho House in a city. It’s only natural that we want to do that digitally as well. We want to become properly hybrid so members can digitally connect before physically meeting in one of the Houses,” he said.
“The rumour is right – there is much more to come in our digital area… it’s only enhancing the membership experience.”
Soho House has 33 ‘Houses’ around the world, as well as spas, cinemas, workspaces, a home retail brand and restaurants. This year alone, nine new Soho Houses are expected to open.
When questioned whether Soho House would lose its exclusivity and ‘family character’ as it grows, Jones responded that more Houses around the world was “better for every member”. Around 80% of the group’s sites are leased, an asset-light strategy that Jones said allowed the group to continue growing and ensure the customer remained the priority.
He added that Soho House was exiting the pandemic in a strong position as it already had the ability to cater to people’s post-pandemic needs – namely, flexibility.
Rather than being cool, he said the important thing was to stay relevant, as well as to keep attracting new members.