Power lunches, corporate bashes and the return of the business club

Business club managers say most members are looking for a place where they can talk business but also get a drink afterwards and network. (Illustration by Suneesh K.)

Talk to Adarsh Jatia, managing director at Provenance Land which owns the Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai and its revamped members-only club called the Modernist, and he says that action in the last few months has been relentless. Pointing to a conference board room in the Modernist, he says: “That room there would have witnessed some of the largest deals being done of late. Literally and I mean literally every week, there is somebody closing a deal, and then coming out to the bar area to celebrate.”

He doesn’t share names but says all the top private equity (PE) company partners are members and at least one reason traction is high is because it's neutral ground between different sides of a transaction. “So instead of meeting at the promoters' office, here it's all on neutral ground,” Jatia says, adding that internally at the hotel, the boardroom is referred to as ‘the closing room.’ The IPL (Indian Premier League) started there. Uber India was born here amongst other deals.”

It’s not the Four Seasons alone that is seeing business pick up. As expected, the lull of the last three (Covid) years has ended - business meetings have seen a resurgence, with most institutions recording a boom in corporate meetings, celebrations and events at members-only business clubs.

The Penthouse at the St Regis Mumbai (formerly Equus), which is also a business club, has built a community by tapping into shared interests such as food, art, travel, and wellness. It was relaunched in February 2023. “The club has seen over 100 enquiries coming in for membership and our teams are at work in building the right community,” says Ranju Alex, area vice-president, Marriott International.

Vivek Narain, founder and chief executive officer of The Quorum Club, which has facilities in New Delhi and Mumbai, says: “Business has bounced back post-pandemic. Last year our business grew 135 percent in revenue, and in the current year we are expecting the business to grow around 70-80 percent at the very least. Also, membership has grown by around 76 percent across the two clubs.” The Quorum has expansion plans in place with a view to opening a club in Hyderabad later this year and three more over the next five years, in Goa, Bengaluru and New Delhi.

Has the demographic changed for the likes of The Quorum? Narain says that while diversity is at the core of his members, the list includes real estate professionals, venture capitalists (VCs), healthcare professionals, investment bankers, creative folks from the film and fashion world to legal and IT professionals.” At a broader level, though, over 60 percent of the demographic is C-suite executives, chairmen and MDs and business founders.

Echoing Jatia's observation, Narain says that deals are constantly being struck at The Quorum. “At any time, you will find a large number of people from the VC and PE ecosystem and financial services at the club. One of our members who is extremely well-known in the VC circuit said ... an entrepreneur can actually fill up his fundraising round by simply going table-to-table at The Q, because everyone he’d want to meet for capital and counsel will be there.”

While officials from other long-time institutions such as the Belvedere (Oberoi Hotels) and the Chambers (Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, or IHCL) declined to comment citing privacy, members there say those clubs are equally busy.

The Chambers, India’s first exclusive business club, opened its doors on May 1, 1975, at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. It currently has over 2,600 members and 8 Chamber locations – 6 in India and one each in London and Dubai.

Sharukh Katrak, managing partner at logistics firm Tankpro Services and at 38 years one of the younger members at the Chambers, says: “I now see many new faces at the club, clearly thanks to select new members being admitted by IHCL.”

A third-generation logistics entrepreneur, Katrak says that the Chambers for him is an extension of his office. “I mainly host guests for discussion with regards to future partnerships, and presentations because the service and privacy available is second to none, which is why most of our transactions are either closed there or eventually celebrated post-office hours.”

Beyond business clubs, it's also new social institutes with membership that are opening up. The Bay Club, an invitation-only family, sports and recreation, corporate and lifestyle facility owned by Reliance, just launched as part of an upcoming hospitality precinct at Maker Maxity, Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Is it just revenge spending that is driving business? "So, the club culture is growing. You see more and more people wanting to conduct business in the club environment because of infrastructure, service, and also the age profile of the members is getting younger and younger. It's between 35 and 40 years old with many lady members," Jatia says. The Modernist has around 500 members with space for around 300 more members.

Jatia explains the reprisal of business clubs thus: members want a place that's not too stiff, where they can not only conduct business but also get that drink after work, or catch up with business friends and network with the profile of people they expect at a certain club.

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