Soho House founder Nick Jones steps down after 27 years at top

Nick Jones has stepped down as CEO of Soho House owner Membership Collective Group after recovering from prostate cancer.

Founder of the posh members’ club on London’s Greek Street in 1995, the reins will pass to group chairman Andrew Carnie.

Jones, 59, built Soho House from a space where artists and actors could gather above his Cafe Boheme restaurant into a global empire with fans including socialites and celebrities, including Tom Cruise and Harry and Meghan.

New York-listed parent company MCG is now worth £233 million, with more than 40 sites around the world and 211,000 members.

It includes 38 Soho houses and a beach club in Mykonos. Jones will remain in a role looking after the brand and designing new homes.

Carnie will take over as CEO under Executive Chairman Ron Burkle.

Jones said: “For the past 27 years I have led Soho House and MCG by always putting members at the center of everything we do.

“I am so proud of what we have achieved and grateful to all the teams that have helped us get to where we are today.

“I’m going back to doing what I did for years – which is why I went into business – making people have a good time, letting people meet new people and creating beautiful spaces.”

He grew up in Surrey and attended boarding school in Oxfordshire. At 17, he chose a career in the hospitality industry because he was “obsessed with food.”

He is married to Kirsty Young, the former presenter of the BBC radio show Desert Island Discs, who had to step down for health reasons after being stricken with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain disorder fibromyalgia.

She delighted fans with a return to screens during the Queen’s platinum anniversary celebrations.

MCG said its membership increased from 193,370 to 211,351 in the three months to Oct. 2 — 46 percent higher than the same time last year. Sales were £224 million, up 48 per cent.

But losses widened, dropping from £65 million to £77.4 million. In New York, shares fell 17 percent.