London’s iconic Groucho Club closes after “serious” crime

nme.com:

BBC News, the Westminster City Council confirmed that it had suspended the venue in Soho, following a request from the Metropolitan Police.

The Groucho Club is reported as having cooperated with the licensing subcommittee from the council, and accepted the decision to close following the seriousness of the allegations.Few details have been shared about the incident at hand, but a full hearing about the licence is scheduled to be held within 28 days of police submitting the review application.“[The closure] follows reports that a serious crime may have taken place at the premises in circumstances linked to a breach in the premises licencing conditions,” said a council spokesperson. “The allegations are subject to an ongoing police investigation and we cannot comment further at this stage.”The Met Police said that the investigation is ongoing, and it could only provide limited information due to it being “a recent serious criminal offence”.

It also added that further details will be released “when possible”.According to the BBC, the reason that the investigation has been publicly revealed is that the force had to make an appeal for the club’s licence to be suspended.NME has reached out to The Groucho Club for comment.The Soho private members club has been open since 1895 and has had a long association with high-profile celebrities.