One of London’s best known private members’ clubs has announced plans to expand to the Yorkshire town of Wakefield.
The Groucho Club, famed for its list of A-list celebrity members, will open new premises at Bretton Hall in 2026. The Grade II* listed building in the heart of Yorkshire Sculpture Park will be the club’s first permanent location outside the capital. Known as Groucho Bretton, it will have 40 bedrooms and be open to non-members.
Established on Soho’s Dean Street in 1985, The Groucho has boasted members including Noel Gallagher, Melvyn Bragg, Rachel Weisz, Lily Allen and Stephen Fry. The new venture has been put together by Groucho owners Artfarm and Yorkshire real estate investor Rushbond Group, which have an agreement in place with Wakefield Council to develop the site with the support of the sculpture park.
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Ewan Venters, chief executive of Artfarm, said: “This is possibly the most exciting venture in the 39-year history of The Groucho. We have done pop-ups at literary and music festivals in the past, but this will be the first time we have set up a permanent home outside of Soho. Groucho Bretton will have a life of its own, separate from the original Groucho, but equally with a uniquely eclectic style and personality rooted in both people and place.”
The hospitality business bought The Groucho in 2022 in a deal reported to be worth £40m.
Bretton Hall housed an art college for almost 60 years before it closed in 2007. Planning permission was granted in 2014 to convert the eighteenth-century former country house into a hotel and spa with conferencing facilities.
Mr Venters added: “The heritage of Bretton Hall is one of the factors that originally attracted us to this site. Our plans will be respectful of these traditions while reinventing its appeal by creating modern spaces for our members, new and old, locals or visitors, to work, to play, to meet, to take part in events and to help us turn Groucho Bretton into a place where everyone feels at home.
“We want people to feel they are part of a family and a community, not just a members’ club.”
Jonathan Maud, chairman of Rushbond Group, said: “The international significance of Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Bretton Hall, coupled with The Groucho Club’s reputation for creativity and companionship has all the magic ingredients to make Groucho Bretton a successful venture.”
Wakefield Council leader Denise Jeffery said: “The longstanding reputation of Bretton Hall as an innovative arts institution makes for a perfect setting for Groucho Bretton. It’s great that Bretton Hall will be entering a dynamic new phase of its history, enhancing our area’s reputation as a cultural centre.”
Michael Graham, the council’s cabinet member for regeneration and economic growth, said: “This is yet another prestigious brand that’s making Wakefield its home. What an incredible addition to our world-renowned sculpture park. Giving local people another exceptional experience on their doorstep, as well as bringing visitors, jobs and investment.”
Sculpture park director Clare Lilley said: “For three generations, Yorkshire Sculpture Park has been loved by millions of people who are enthralled by its unique union of exceptional art and heritage landscape. Groucho Bretton takes the estate into a new era, and importantly will conserve and bring back to life the magnificent eighteenth-century building that was once the centrepiece of the estate and has lain empty for 16 years.”
Leading the project will be Elli Jafali, who takes over as The Groucho’s new chief executive in April.
The Groucho was founded by a group of mostly women publishers. It has long been popular with musicians, writers, media figures and artists, with Damien Hirst famously putting his £20,000 Turner Prize winnings behind the bar in 1992.
The club is also noted for its collection of about 150 works of art, by artists including Francis Bacon, Tracey Emin and Gavin Turk. Other Artfarm properties include Manuela restaurant, in Los Angeles, and The Audley Public House, in Mayfair.
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