Soho House's Shoreditch Club Under Council Investigation Over Food Safety and Pest Allegations

A private members' club operated by Soho House in east London is being investigated by its local authority following allegations of rats on the premises and the relabelling of out-of-date prepared food so it could be sold to diners.

Hackney Council confirmed it had opened an investigation into food safety and hygiene at Shoreditch House after receiving a report about conditions at the venue, which is one of ten Soho House locations in the capital.

The probe stems from claims made by a former staff member, Kamran Khan, who says he witnessed practices that he believed put members and their guests at risk and eventually took his concerns to the council after losing confidence in the company's internal response.

Khan, 30, first raised the issue informally in July while still within his probation period at the club, before submitting a formal complaint. He says prepared food that had not sold by the end of the day was being relabelled so it appeared fresher than it was, a practice that would breach rules requiring restaurants to display accurate best-before or use-by information on the food they serve.

According to Khan, he was told during a probation meeting that he should continue the practice and that failing to do so on his own initiative would be treated as a performance concern. He said he felt he had no real choice, describing the instruction as pressure to act against his own judgment.

Khan said he decided to speak up in part because of the clientele he encountered at the restaurant, noting that he regularly saw children and pregnant women among the diners. "I told them that I don't want to be held personally liable for anyone that gets injured," he said, explaining his motivation for escalating the matter.

He also claimed that rats had been present at the venue for an extended period and that cleaning staff were instructed to check for rat droppings every day. The BBC has not independently verified those claims, and Soho House declined to comment on the rats allegation specifically.

After filing his formal complaint, Khan says the company carried out an investigation and told him on 24 August that there was evidence supporting his account and that steps were being taken to address the issue. Despite those assurances, he says the relabelling continued, prompting him to approach Hackney Council instead.

His employment at Shoreditch House was terminated in September, roughly two months after he first raised concerns. Soho House said the decision was entirely unrelated to the food labelling complaints, a position the company reiterated in its public statement.

A Hackney Council spokesperson confirmed the authority's involvement, saying: "We have received a report about food safety and hygiene at Shoreditch House and have opened an investigation." The council did not provide further detail on the scope or expected timeline of the inquiry.

Soho House apologised for the incident and insisted that relabelling unsold food is not company policy. "This is not how we expect our houses to operate and it is not company policy," a spokesperson said, adding that an external, independent investigation and audit had been conducted.

The company also stressed the importance it places on food safety, saying: "Delivering the highest level of food safety for our members and guests is incredibly important to us." It characterised the labelling matter as an isolated incident but did not address the claim about rats.

Under UK food law, restaurants must label the food they serve with information including best-before or use-by dates, and altering such labels to extend the apparent shelf life of a product can constitute a serious breach of hygiene regulations. Local authorities have the power to inspect premises, issue improvement notices and, in the most serious cases, prosecute businesses or restrict their operations.

Soho House occupies a distinctive position in the hospitality sector, cultivating an air of exclusivity that has made it a favoured haunt of celebrities. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly had their first date at one of its London venues, a detail that has long formed part of the brand's public mythology.

Membership does not come cheap, starting at £291.67 a month, with a reduced rate of £204.17 for those under 27. The group opened its first club in London in 1995 and has since expanded to 46 Soho Houses across Europe, North America and Asia, alongside a collection of other upmarket hospitality businesses.

The company listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021, but its share price fell sharply in the years that followed as it struggled to turn a profit and faced persistent accusations that it was losing the exclusivity that underpinned its appeal. It was acquired last year by a consortium of investors for around £2bn, a deal that brought actor Ashton Kutcher onto the company's board.

For Soho House, the Hackney investigation represents a reputational test at a moment when the business is still adjusting to new ownership and working to convince investors and members alike of its long-term prospects. Food safety investigations at high-profile venues can move quickly from an operational matter to a broader question about management culture.

For Khan, the case illustrates the difficulties faced by junior staff who raise concerns during probation, when job security is weakest and the consequences of speaking out can be immediate. His decision to take the matter to the council rather than rely on the company's internal process reflects a common pattern in whistleblowing cases, where employees who feel their complaints are not being taken seriously turn to external regulators.

The council's investigation is now the central forum for establishing what happened at Shoreditch House. Its findings will determine whether the allegations are substantiated and what, if any, enforcement action follows. Until then, both the club and its accuser are awaiting an outcome that could carry significant consequences for one of Britain's best-known members' clubs.