They couldn’t have picked a better week to open. What else would a City trader want but a safe haven from the ravages of the stock market?
That’s what they got when the Berkeley Playhouse opened near London’s Mayfair at the end of October. Promoted as the venue which “is taking up where the Playboy clubs left off”, the venue is strictly members only, and is designed to attract the City’s dealers, traders and brokers.
There’s certainly more than enough to keep them busy. A downstairs restaurant which is already receiving accolades for its dishes, meeting rooms and several bars. Not to mention the “100 beautiful girls providing the very best in cabaret-style table dancing,” as the press release boasts. The management has even installed Reuters and Bloomberg screens as part of a business centre for those traders who can’t quite tear themselves away from work – or the girls.
And there are plenty of those, as demonstrated by the rush to invest in the club. Last year Berkeley Playhouse Xoated on Ofex, a small, unregulated stock exchange in London. It raised £2.5 million ($4 million) – the offer was 2.5 times oversubscribed – and the majority of the 400 investors were from the City. A £2,000 minimum investment gets an investor Wve years’ free membership, with 10 years for £5,000. “One guy invested £35,0000,” says Peter Morely, who runs marketing for the club. “He was obviously desperate to get life membership.” Very desperate – life membership comes with just £10,000.
For those who feel left out, there’s still time. The club is in the middle of a secondary offering to raise £850,000. But you don’t have to invest to become a member: £200 buys a year’s membership, although they’re fast reaching the limit of 1,500 members.
There have even been some enquiries from women: “Some have actually bought membership for themselves,” says Morely. “Others wanted to get it as a Christmas present for their husbands or boyfriends.”
And there are plans to expand, first to UK cities such as Leeds and Newcastle – “essentially to those cities with an international airport,” says Morely – and then perhaps to the major European cities. Next time there’s a fall in the stock markets, we’ll know where to look. Antony Currie
