Police shut exclusive Mayfair members’ club over ‘public safety’ fears
Police have temporarily closed a Mayfair private members’ club, which has been visited by Sarah Ferguson, Kim Kardashian and Noel Gallagher, over safety concerns.
The Metropolitan Police applied to Westminster City Council to suspend the license of Maison Estelle, which subsequently shut its doors on Tuesday.
Police said reports of “serious crime, or serious disorder, or both” at the venue had prompted the closure, which will last for at least 28 days.
The exclusive club told members it will shut “for a few weeks” because of a “serious public safety matter outside the premises,” the Telegraph reported.
Maison Estella was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Sharan Pasricha and his wife Eisha Mittal, the daughter of Indian telecoms billionaire Sunil Mittal.
The club, where membership costs nearly £6,000 a year, boasts four restaurants, 11 bars and two nightclubs across the seven floors of its Grade-1-listed Georgian townhouse.
The venue was “born out of a desire to create one-of-a-kind spaces and a community that brings people together that have plenty to say and nothing to prove,” its owners said.
The townhouse, which dates back to 1772, was subject to a “meticulous restoration and reinvention” and features 13 original fireplaces, the club boasts.
The club has a strict no-photography policy – with guests required to place stickers over phone cameras – but imposes no dress code, telling guests: “We trust you to know how to dress depending on the occasion. All we ask is that you make an effort.”
Membership to the Estelle group includes access to another private members’ club in Notting Hill and Estelle Manor, an 85-acre estate and rural retreat in Oxfordshire.
Public safety concerns shut club
Celebrity visitors to the members’ club include Angelina Jolie, Lewis Hamilton and Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, the daughters of Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Ferguson has been pictured at both Maison Estelle and Estelle Manor. She also frequents a number of other clubs popular with London’s high life, including Harry’s and Annabel’s.
A spokesperson for Maison Estelle said: “We have closed Maison Estelle for a few weeks while we carry out investigations after receiving information from the Metropolitan Police and following a serious public safety matter outside the premises.
“The safety of our staff, our members and their guests will always come first. We are continuing to work closely with Westminster city council and the police as we review our licence conditions and procedures.”
A Westminster city council spokesperson said: “On September 23, the Metropolitan Police initiated a summary review of Maison Estelle, a licensed premises.
“At an interim steps hearing on Sept 24, the Metropolitan Police Service asked that the council suspend the license as a result of concerns around public safety and significant breaches of the premises license. Maison Estelle were represented at the hearing and did not oppose the application.
“The sub-committee, on consideration of the application and the relevant representations, have suspended the license in the interest of public safety and will consider the application in full within the next 28 days.”