‘In fine fettle’: Pall Mall’s RAC waiting list grows as posh club toasts profit boost
The Royal Automobile Club has seen a rise in its waiting list as the posh Pall Mall private members’ club toasted a surge in profitability.
The institution, which was founded in 1897 as a motoring club and later spawned the roadside assistance business RAC, saw its waiting list increase by 7 per cent in 2025 to over 1200 applicants, who are charged a £6,000 joining fee as well as annual membership costs.
The group, which also operates a clubhouse and golf course in Epsom, posted total turnover of £69.7m in 2025, a rise of 7.6 per cent on the previous year, while pre-tax profit rocketed 50 per cent to £9.8m during the year. That came despite the fact that the RAC spent more than £1.3m on the renovation of its historic Pall Mall clubhouse facade.
The club had also planned an extensive refurbishment of its fitness centre – which includes a 28m luxurious Grecian swimming pool – but was held up by a local objection to its council planning application.
RAC chair Duncan Wiltshire said the club’s motoring arm, which includes a number of classic car events, was “in fine fettle.”
“Our clubhouses remained busy throughout the year, enabling the club to deliver a performance ahead of its financial objectives,” he said.
“Service standards are high with positive member feedback, the membership renewal rate remains at a level to which most organisations can only aspire and our finances are sound.”
The club, whose banqueting rooms are often used by City bigwigs for private industry events, has its own collection of vintage vehicles, valued at a combined £2.2m, as well as an art collection thought to be worth over £1.2m. Its wine and spirits inventory was last valued at £2.3m.
The RAC, which offers discounts to younger members, caps its total number of paid-up members at 17,000. Typically around 95 per cent of members renew their membership each year.
Wiltshire said progress has also been made in the Club’s ESG strategy, including new arrangements to help members and employees provide support to charities, the approval by the board of an equality, diversity and inclusion framework.