Private members’ club in Mayfair was anything but – so now it must close

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

A Mayfair private members’ club has had its licence revoked following a review triggered by a large fight at the venue last month.

Duke Street’s Concept Club had initially been slapped with a temporary suspension by Westminster City council following the brawl, which resulted in injuries – including one man being stabbed in his abdomen.

The central London authority has however since opted for a full revocation, over concerns the venue was failing to uphold its licensing objectives. The event, organised by Naitram Live, was a Wireless Festival after-party, with council papers indicating 15 people were involved in the fight.

Following the incident, the police raised ‘grave concerns’ about the venue’s operations, noting “multiple breaches of the licence conditions and a clear lack of control”.

At a meeting, on July 18, Westminster’s licensing sub-committee agreed with the force that a suspension should be implemented on Concept Club until a full hearing could be held.

During Monday’s session, councillors were told by the Met’s legal representative, Amin Solimani, that the force was seeking revocation of the premises licence for three reasons; that the licensee, Electshow Ltd, had engaged in ‘willful breaches’ of conditions, with the fight a result of such transgressions; that its use as a nightclub is ‘fundamentally incompatible’ with its licence for a private members’ club; and that the licensee has failed to engage with the force.

Mr Solimani said officers had been unable to access details including guest lists and till receipts when requested, and described the club’s actions as ‘obstructive’.

“It’s evasive, it’s not clear why they’re refusing to share evidence with the responsible authority, responsible for keeping people safe, responsible for working with the operator to keep Westminster locals safe.”

Mr Solimani added there were concerns regarding the Concept Club’s use as a ‘public nightclub’, rather than a private members’ club.

He said the police were told the venue scanned customers’ IDs when they came in and that this constituted forming membership, a claim he described as ‘completely unacceptable’.

“If that was all it took to be a private members’ club…pretty much every club in the West End would be a private members’ club.”

The police’s request for the committee to consider revocation was backed by the licensing authority and the council’s environmental health service, as well as the site’s landlord, Dukeson Properties Ltd.

James Rankin, the freeholder’s legal counsel, said Dukeson shared the concerns. “What happened on the night was a serious incident, and on any view what has taken place is an obstruction by those that were operating the premises of the police when seeking to lawfully conduct an investigation.”

The club’s counsel, Sarah Clover, told the committee there had been a lot of ‘misinformation and inaccuracy’ in submissions from the police and other authorities, including regarding the ability for the venue to operate as a nightclub.

Acknowledging the incident identified as the trigger for the review was ‘serious’, she said it was however isolated, and did not arise out of the manner in which it was being run.

Ms Clover added there was nothing to suggest the police were impeded in their investigation.

She said: “[There] is not a clear correlation between the breaches of conditions and an inability to run the premises in a trustworthy and effective manner as far as licensing is concerned.”

Councillors however disagreed, concluding it was appropriate to revoke the venue’s licence, and for the previously-agreed interim step of suspension to continue.

Pictured top: Duke Street in Mayfair (Picture: Google Street View)