Soho House to be bought for £2bn by Ashton Kutcher-backed group
The hospitality group, which is based in London but listed on the New York Stock Exchange, confirmed that shareholders in Soho House & Co will receive nine dollars (£6.64) per share in the business.
New York-based hotel giant MCR Hotels is leading the consortium, also including private equity firm Apollo, which struck the deal to take the company private.
It will pay £2 billion to snap up the business, including its debts.
A raft of existing shareholders, including Ron Burkle, Ivy Collection boss Richard Caring and founder Nick Jones, will retain their stakes in the company.
A-list actor-turned-tech investor Mr Kutcher will also invest in Soho House as part of the deal and will join the firm's board of directors.
MCR boss Tyler Morse will also join the board as vice chairman following the takeover.
Soho House was founded as a single private members' club in the central London area in 1995 but has since expanded globally with a portfolio of exclusive venues.
The business currently runs 46 Soho House sites, eight Soho Works and Scorpios Beach Clubs in Mykonos and Bodrum. It also owns the Ned and numerous other hospitality businesses.
Andrew Carnie, chief executive of Soho House & Co, said: 'This transaction reflects the strong confidence our existing and incoming shareholders have in the future of Soho House & Co, and the transformation we've led since becoming a public company.
'Since our IPO (initial public offering) in 2021, we've focused on building a stronger, more resilient business.
'I'm incredibly proud of what our teams have accomplished and am excited about our future, as we continue to be guided by our members and grounded in the spirit that makes Soho House so special.'
Mr Morse said: 'All of us at MCR are excited to be part of the Soho House journey, helping to create more experiences, interactions and memories alongside friends and members.
'We have long admired Soho House for bringing together cultures from around the world into a global network of 46 houses, and we look forward to the continued growth of that fabric, starting with four new houses opening soon.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
Senator Schiff asks FCC to disclose if Trump sought content changes in Paramount merger review
WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Adam Schiff asked the Federal Communications Commission whether President Donald Trump sought programming or media coverage commitments as part of the approval of CBS-parent Paramount Global's merger with Skydance Media. Schiff on Monday sought details from FCC Chair Brendan Carr on potential political influence by Trump on the review, citing the $16 million settlement paid by Paramount (PSKY.O), opens new tab to Trump weeks before the merger's approval and a series of meetings the FCC held with company executives. The senator also asked if the FCC had talks with the companies concerning specific programs, including 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" during the merger review. CBS announced in July the Late Show would be canceled next year. Schiff said the sequence of events "raises significant questions and alarm that the FCC – an independent regulatory agency – has become a vehicle for President Trump to exact personal retribution and undermine the freedom of the press." Paramount, the White House and the FCC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who last month also sought answers on the review, suggested that the FCC's goal was "government censorship" in approving the deal. "The FCC is engaged in an unprecedented and illegal campaign to chill free speech and independent news reporting protected by the First Amendment," Blumenthal wrote. The FCC voted 2-1 to approve the $8.4 billion merger after Skydance agreed to ensure CBS news and entertainment programming is free of bias, hire an ombudsman for at least two years to review complaints and end diversity programs. Trump has repeatedly attacked broadcast networks for what he perceives as biased news coverage and called on Carr to rescind their licenses. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez accused Paramount of "cowardly capitulation" to the Trump administration. She also said the FCC was imposing "never-before-seen controls over newsroom decisions and editorial judgment, in direct violation of the First Amendment and the law." Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a $20 billion lawsuit filed by Trump, claiming CBS News' "60 Minutes" deceptively edited an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount did not admit wrongdoing.
The Guardian
18 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Tenants in England spending ‘unaffordable' 36% of income on rent, shows survey
Renting homes in England is becoming increasing unaffordable, according to new official figures which show tenants pay an average of 36.3% of their income on rent, a figure that rises to 41.6% in London. People earning a median salary spent 36.3% of their income on an average-priced rented home in England in 2024, up from 34.2% in 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figures for the financial year show that the price of renting a home in England is moving further beyond a 30% rent to income threshold that the ONS considers to be affordable. The new data has fuelled calls for rent regulation to end a growing affordability crisis for renters. London was the least affordable region with rents of £1,957 per month, meaning tenants had to pay on average 41.6% of their income on housing. The top 10 least affordable council areas were all in London, topped by Kensington and Chelsea where those on median incomes had to pay 74.3% of their gross earnings on rent. The next worst were: Westminster (55.8%); Wandsworth (54%); Camden (51.7%); Hammersmith and Fulham (51.3%); Haringey (48.3%) Lambeth (47.1%); Merton (46.8%); Islington (45.5%); and Richmond (45.3%). All 32 council areas in London have been above the 30% affordability threshold for eight of the nine financial years ending 2016 to 2024, the ONS bulletin said. Outside London, the least affordable areas based on the percentage of salary paid on rent were: Bristol (44.6%) Bath and North East Somerset (42.7%) Brighton (42.7%) and Trafford (41.3%), as well as Sevenoaks (42%) and Watford (41%) which have a high number of London commuters. The figures showed that rents last year rose faster than incomes in England. Faster rising wages meant the ratios of rent to income briefly dipped in 2022/23, but since then the ratio has worsened and rents look set to continue to outstrip rises in incomes. In some regions of England and in Wales and Northern Ireland, rents were found to be still affordable, according to the ONS metric. The most affordable region in England was the north east, with average rents of £641 per month, or 19.8% of income. In Wales, all but two of the 24 council areas had average rents that were below the 30% affordability threshold. Only in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan was it above this level. In Northern Ireland, rents were relatively flat with the ratio ticking up to 25.3% from 25.1% from the previous year. Tom Darling, the director at the Renters' Reform Coalition, said: 'These figures show that the biggest issue facing renters – the cost of their rent – isn't going away any time soon. 'Though the government's renters' rights bill will introduce crucial improvements to security and standards, it won't put a lid on the affordability crisis. While millions are forced to spend less on essentials like groceries to afford their rent, the government will have a hard time making the case at the next election that they've delivered for renters.' Darling added: 'The government should establish a national rental affordability commission to look at ways to bring rents down relative to incomes – including investigating different types of rent regulation.' Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance for Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Renters faced a horrible squeeze on their incomes, and there's every sign it has got worse since. Landlords are continuing to sell up – concerned about higher costs from more regulation and more tax. 'It means more tenants chasing dwindling numbers of properties, so rents are continuing to rise. At the same time, although wages have risen impressively, they have been consistently outpaced by private rental increases.' Joseph Elliott, lead analyst at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: 'High rents are locking people out of secure homes and driving poverty and homelessness. 'The government needs to tackle the root causes of the housing crisis— unaffordable rents, frozen housing support, and a chronic shortage of social housing.'
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Gupta lawyers fail to appear for Trafigura fraud case hearing
LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Lawyers representing Indian businessman Prateek Gupta said they failed to appear for a hearing on Monday because of funding difficulties in a long-running fraud case brought by commodity trader Trafigura about nickel cargoes, a London court heard. Geneva-based Trafigura, a major industrial metals and oil trader, filed a lawsuit against Gupta in February 2023, alleging it had been the victim of a $600-million fraud involving nickel cargoes masterminded by Gupta and in which he and his companies participated. Gupta has said in his defence that Trafigura staff devised the scheme at the centre of the case to substitute low-value materials such as scrap for high-grade nickel. Trafigura and its employees have denied any knowledge of fraud. Gupta's lawyers Preston Turnbull informed Trafigura and the court on Friday that due to a lack of funding they would not be attending Monday's hearing regarding the use of documents in a separate arbitration case. "That is an excuse which has been routinely trotted out by the Gupta defendants throughout these proceedings when it had suited them to do so, and it is without any merit," Trafigura lawyer Edward Ho told Monday's hearing. Preston Turnbull did not respond to a request for comment. In March 2024, lawyers for Gupta told a court he had run out of funds to pay legal fees, and in June last year Gupta changed lawyers to Preston Turnbull from Mishcon De Reya. "The court has previously found, and I agree, that there are sources of funding available to the Gupta defendants," Ho added. "Alleged funding issues have been a recurring theme... to justify their failure to meet court deadlines and to comply with court orders." Judges have granted a succession of delays over many months to Gupta to meet deadlines for disclosure of documents relevant to the case, which is due to go to trial in November. Judge Robin Knowles on Monday granted Trafigura's request to use nine documents disclosed by Gupta in the current fraud case in a separate arbitration case due to be heard next month. The arbitration case involves Trafigura and Hong-Kong based Axiom Ltd because Trafigura sold one of the cargoes provided by Gupta to Axiom, which was found not to contain nickel, the court heard.
