London’s women-only members’ club AllBright enters administration
The female-only Mayfair townhouse operated by women’s collective AllBright is set to close as the company enters administration.
The networking and events business, launched by co-chair of the Invest in Women Taskforce Debbie Wosskow and Telegraph Media Group’s chief executive Anna Jones in 2017, will close the doors on the Mayfair club it opened in 2019.
“Sadly, with rising rents and the scale of the building, combined with its premium location, the Mayfair townhouse is no longer viable. While events, networking opportunities and learning programmes remain in high demand, the social and dining spaces were underutilised,” an email seen by The Guardian said.
Former media executive Viviane Paxinos took over as CEO in 2023, although Wosskow and Jones remained on the board as non-executive directors.
AllBright had a core focus on bringing women together to share advice and encourage career development via coaching, masterclasses and funding.
In the year to March 2022, AllBright reported a pre-tax loss of £6m, according to Companies House.
In a statement on LinkedIn, co-founder Debbie Wosskow said: “I was sorry to learn over the last few days that AllBright, the women’s network that Anna Jones and I co founded in 2017 and exited in 2022, has entered administration, with the Mayfair Club being shut down.
“We had amazing times running that business – highs, lows and everything in between. 2017 was a very different time – feminism was in a different place – post Me Too and the first era of Trump. Businesses in the US like The Wing and Chief were our transatlantic sisters.
“Two and a half years have passed since our exit and DEI now seems unfashionable. Those early rooms of incredible women lit us up, and relationships were built that changed women’s lives.
“We hope that the amazing AllBright members continue to find inspirational spaces in which to come together in the future.