What Soho House’s Exit Tells Us About Luxury
The other morning, while trying to coax the last bit of summer out of the garden, deadheading roses that should have given up weeks ago, I found myself thinking about Soho House leaving the stock market. (I know, who else thinks about corporate structures while holding secateurs? But stay with me.)
British Vogue - Soho Farmhouse
When a brand like Soho House lists publicly, it enters a different world. Suddenly it has to speak the language of quarterly earnings, growth forecasts, and investor calls. Useful for the markets, but far removed from what the Houses were built on. Because Soho House has always been about atmosphere, not arithmetic. The way every House feels lived-in from the day it opens, as if the chairs have already hosted a hundred conversations. That isn’t something you can plot on a chart.
By returning to private ownership, Soho House is stepping back into alignment with its own DNA. The focus shifts from satisfying shareholders to serving members (something we can all learn from). For anyone working in brand or creative direction, that’s a revealing move. It reminds us that luxury isn’t about reach, it’s about control and intimacy. Hermès makes you wait. Bottega still resists the churn of constant posting. And Soho House, leaving the stock market, is choosing to protect mood and narrative over endless visibility.
From a design and interiors point of view, that choice matters. A House has always been more than a club. You might come for dinner but leave thinking about the odd little painting in a corridor, or the background music that somehow sets the pace of the evening. Freed from the glare of public trading, Soho House can double down on those details—the quiet signals that shape taste as much as they reflect it.
And for us, as people who work with brands, it’s a provocation. Do we want to be louder, or do we want to be sharper? Scale is tempting, but resonance is what lasts.
So, as the roses finally collapsed into the compost, I found myself feeling reassured. In this crazy culture that prizes exposure above all else, there’s something luxurious about retreat. About closing the door and tending to the inside, making it as good as it can possibly be…