Hotel ownership company MCR Hotels plans to acquire the remaining shares in hotel and membership-club business Soho House, a deal that would turn the club into a private entity.
According to a news release, MCR would pay shareholders “$9 per share in cash, an 83% premium to the unaffected share price.” The acquisition price per share is a 17.8% premium on Soho House’s share price at press time of $7.64 per share. The deal values the London-based firm at $2.7 billion, including debt.
Funds affiliated with global alternative asset manager Apollo are supporting the deal with a hybrid capital solution.
Soho House has 46 hotels branded under Soho House, as well as three The Ned hotels and two Scorpios Beach Club properties in Mykonos, Greece, and Bodrum, Turkey, among its other real estate portfolio interests. The company's hotel portfolio includes properties in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey and the U.S.
MCR’s chairman and CEO Tyler Morse would become vice chairman of Soho House’s board.
“MCR’s investment in Soho House represents a strategic opportunity to combine our operational expertise with one of the most distinctive brands in hospitality,” Morse said in the news release. “Our shared goal is to safeguard the member experience, drive sustainable international growth for House members and protect and expand the cultural and creative foundation that has made Soho House a global industry leader.”
Soho House also announced Monday that its new chief financial officer is Neil Thomson, replacing Thomas Allen, effective immediately. Thomson who arrives from being CFO at food-and-beverage firm Del Frisco. Actor Ashton Kutcher has joined the Soho House board of directors, according to a news release from Soho House.
MCR owns more than 150 hotels, including the High Line Hotel and TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and the Pasadena Hotel & Pool in Pasadena, California. In February 2024, MCR acquired the BT Tower in Central London for £275 million ($372.5 million), which it plans to convert into a luxury hotel.
In the second quarter, Soho House reported its total revenue grew 8.9% to $329.8 million, and its “revenue per available room was 2% higher year-over-year on a like-for-like basis,” according to its earnings report published Aug. 8. The company's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 46.3% in year-on-year terms to $46.1 million, and its membership over the same period increased 4.7% to 213,621 members.
Soho House executives have hinted since December that a buyer had expressed an interest in acquiring the company for $9 per share.
The Financial Times reported that “Soho House has been public since 2021 but struggled financially, losing more than 46% of its market value since the company floated its shares.”