The Dally, the neighbourhood private members club located in the heart of Islington, is pleased to announce the launch of a £1.0 million equity fundraise to launch its second site and kick off its UK expansion strategy.
Founded in 2023, The Dally is on a mission to create welcoming and entertaining spaces where residents and businesses can feel part of a community of like-minded people within their local neighbourhood. It is on a mission to revolutionise the legacy private members clubs’ model by launching sites in largely residential areas rather than central locations and offers memberships at an accessible price.
Earlier this year, the Group opened its first location – a 4,000 sq. ft three-storey venue on Upper Street in Islington. The club is an all-day destination, with a welcoming lounge and bar on the ground floor; 32-cover seasonal Mediterranean restaurant Margo’s on the first floor; and its loft space, which plays host to member events and private dining.
Since opening, The Dally Islington has traded ahead of expectations with membership levels up 55% on initial projections. This has, in part, been driven by a strong series of member events such as book launches, comedy, live music and supper clubs which have proved effective in driving footfall, food and beverage spend on-site and offer moments for members to bring guests. Today, 33% of all visits to The Dally are made up of guests, creating opportunities to introduce the club to prospective members and build a pipeline of membership enquiries.
The Dally is already backed by a series of private high-net-worth, and hospitality-focused investors, and proceeds from the £1.0 million equity fundraising will, in part, be used to explore The Dally’s second club. This is likely to be located in one of London’s ‘villages’, where The Dally sees an opportunity to replicate its events-focused, member-led model.
Over the next five years, The Dally’s management team believe it has potential to scale to the brand to five sites, while delivering profitable and sustainable growth. New sites are likely to be in London ‘villages’ as well as additional sites in affluent UK holiday destinations such as North Norfolk and Cornwall.
Caroline Baldwin, co-founder and CEO of The Dally, said: “We’ve had a fantastic start to life. In the six months since opening, we’ve traded ahead of expectations, have strong membership levels and a good pipeline of enquiries, and a run of private event bookings all the way up to the Spring. Our performance reflects our belief that there is a gap in the market for member-led, events-focused private members clubs located in the neighbourhoods in which their members live. Now, we’re ready to bring in more investors who want to join us on this journey to revolutionise the private members club sector and start scaling The Dally’s differentiated concept.”
