Soho House is heading to Manchester for the first time, marking a big move into the north for the exclusive members club.
The hotly anticipated new Manchester location is currently being built in the Old Granada Studios building and it is hoped will be open by the end of 2022.
Whilst we already knew it was coming, excitement around the new opening has gathered pace after more details were revealed by its founder at the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show this week.
Speaking at the trade event, held at the city centre’s Manchester Central complex, founder Nick Jones said he wanted to provide more locations for members outside of central London and admitted he was ‘nervous’ to open up a branch in Manchester.
Promising that the new Manchester house will be weighted towards 80% of local memberships, he was at pains to emphasise the importance of making it a local’s haunt – with programming and music chosen by and for Mancunians.
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Speaking in Manchester this week, he said: “There will be an element of glamour to the place, but with an element of grit too. We have a lot of local people working with us, so the programming will be local, the music [will be local]”
During Nick’s talk, which saw him interviewed by NRB CEO Thom Hetherington, he also revealed that the new club will feature a number of restaurants including A-list celeb Italian favourite Cecconi’s.
Known as a favoured haunt of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Jason Statham, Nick Grimshaw, Kate Moss and Lindsay Lohan here in the UK, Cecconi’s abroad are equally as popular with celebs – with the West Hollywood location frequented by the likes of Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres and Gwen Stefani.
He also revealed that the club will be spread across three floors and will house a rooftop pool, an outdoor terrace area, and a music venue and club space.
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Just beneath the Soho House development will be a second venue, Mollie’s, due to launch next year.
Mollie’s Manchester will boast upwards of 140 rooms, a 164-cover diner restaurant, cocktail bar, event space, lounge, workplace and an outdoor terrace.
It will be the third and largest Mollie’s site to date, following launches in Oxford and Bristol, and promises tospan 100sq ft in the iconic TV Studios building, central to Manchester’s buzzing social scene – marking Mollie’s and Soho House Manchester a firm place to be seen in the city.
Soho House Manchester will be located above Mollie’s, with a club and rooftop pool on the building’s top floors.
The Manchester house will be Soho’s fourth venue outside London, following on from the most recent Brighton location which opens on the coast this month.
Further openings on the horizon include a second London location south of the river in Balham, and international houses in Bangkok, Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Miami. Currently, the group has 27 global locations.
Feature image – Soho House
News
Police officer who sexually assaulted a child while on duty sacked
Daisy Jackson
A ‘morally reprehensible’ police officer who sexually assaulted a child while on duty has been sacked and barred from service.
GMP held an accelerated misconduct hearing with PC Dean Dempster, 35, and he has been dismissed without notice.
The disgraced officer admitted ‘sexually touching’ the six-year-old child in December 2023 and is set to be sentenced at a later date.
He was a response officer in Oldham at the time that the offence was reported, and was arrested by a supervisor when he returned to work the next day.
A senior officer has now said that Dempster ‘has no right to be in police uniform or in a position to serve the public’.
Another said it was ‘among the most distressing cases ever presented’ and a ‘despicable betrayal’ of police duties.
Dempster was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl while responding to an incident on 29 December 2023.
He was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in February and remained suspended since being charged at the end of last year.
Presiding over today’s hearing, CC Watson found PC Dempster’s conduct amounted to gross misconduct, saying: “This sexual assault occurred whilst the officer was on duty and where the victim was totally trusting and reliant on him performing his duties professionally, compassionately and with her welfare uppermost in his thoughts.
“It is this most egregious breach of trust of an innocent young child that is most upsetting aspect of this case and something that clearly amounts to an aggravating factor.
“I consider this case to be among the most distressing ever presented to me such is the despicable betrayal of all that is inherent in being a decent police officer.
“I have no hesitation whatsoever in dismissing PC Dempster from the service with immediate effect.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, head of GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “Dean Dempster is not a police officer, he’s a child sex offender who has no right to be in police uniform or in a position to serve the public.
“We have no time for people like Dempster who should not be in GMP and does not represent us.
“This is why we’re increasingly using accelerated misconduct hearings to root out and boot out officers who are unfit to serve in our uniform, and this work will continue while ever they remain.”
Dempster has been added to the College of Policing Barred List by Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who described Dempster’s actions as ‘morally reprehensible’.
GMP used accelerated proceedings as part of its pledge to ‘root and boot’ officers unfit to serve the public.
The force is now writing to the Deputy Mayor of GM to appeal for Dempster to lose his right to a police pension.
Manchester City reveals details around the first Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Stadium
Danny Jones
Manchester City have released the first details surrounding their inaugural Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Campus.
One of the most important charities in the UK when it comes to male mental health and suicide prevention, Andy’s Man Club and even its logo alone have become a recognisable force for good over the past few years, and the significance of bringing it to such a big scale as City cannot be overstated.
The football club first announced the partnership back in February and has already been working closely with the non-profit organisation to promote better wellbeing amongst men, getting first-team stars such as defender John Stones to open up about his own experiences with mental health just last month.
With that in mind, the word is now out that Man City will be providing yet another location for groups to meet and crucially talk through Andy’s Man Club sessions, confirming details around their first meeting from next week onwards.
Set to kick off in the East Stand of the Etihad Stadium from 7-9pm on Monday, 13 May, Man City will not only help deliver a vital outlet for men in the East Manchester area but become just the latest in a long line of teams to back the regular support group.
Joining over 180 clubs nationwide – including the likes of Altrincham FC, Ashton United and Bolton Wanderers, just to name a few in the Greater Manchester area – Andy’s Mans Club is currently helping well over 4,000 men open up and combat their struggles through peer-to-peer sessions.
Founded by a group of nine blokes from Halifax back in 2016 to create positive change in men’s mental health, Andy’s Man Club now helps gather men aged 18 and over across the country every week throughout the year.
In alignment with other partnered clubs Andy’s Man Clubs across the country, attendees will be asked to arrive from 18:30 (UK) ahead of the 19:00 start time.
The sessions are free with registration or ID required and, more importantly, there’s no pressure to talk if you don’t want to. The first step is easy: just listen.
Just because it’s being held at City’s ground doesn’t mean you have to be a season ticket holder, have an official Cityzens membership to attend or anything like that, you can simply arrive via the East Stand reception (Door F) and join the session.
Attendees will be greeted on arrival by trained volunteers from Andy’s Man Club who will guide them through the stadium. With the club now on board, group sessions will be running at the same time every week (except bank holiday Mondays) with the first dates scheduled for the following nights this month:
Monday 13 May
Monday 20 May
Monday 3 June
Monday 10 June
Well done to all those involved in bringing Andy’s Man Club to Manchester City and the East Manchester community. We hope the sessions will help those going along as they have done for thousands of others.