Report: Soho House Looks To Go Public In New York

To benefit from investor interest in travel and leisure equities as COVID-19 dissipates, Soho House is forming plans to list in New York by as soon as March, the Financial Times reported.

The company was able to keep more than 90 percent of its paying members during the pandemic, even with sharp declines in revenues due to sites being closed. According to FT, an annual membership typically costs £1,750 (approximately $2,450).

Soho House reportedly made £293 million (approximately $411 million) in revenues in 2o19, about half of which originated from food and drink revenues and 20 percent from recurring payments by members. The rest originated from housewares.

Soho House Founder Nick Jones opened the inaugural location in 1995. The company has since expanded quickly, and has become a popular attraction for celebrities.

The pandemic has hit the hotel and travel sectors hard since its onset in March of 2020. The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that the country’s domestic and international flights dropped from 10.2 million in 2019 to 4.8 million last year, and the American hospitality industry saw one billion rooms go unused last year. Burgeoning technologies like biometric-based digital identity offerings and touch-free verification tools, however, could help bring travelers back and ease the industry’s suffering.

PYMNTS’ February Digital Identity Tracker looks into how digital identity tools are being leveraged to help spur travel and tourism during the pandemic. As PYMNTS data strongly indicates, consumers are very focused on the coronavirus vaccine, with 59 percent citing it as the most important factor in shaping whether or not they will resume their pre-pandemic lives. That includes not only travel, but also things like shopping in retail establishments, going to work and visiting with friends and family.