Ross Sanders to launch London nightclub called DIU

Ross Sanders, the founder of pub operator and management company Urban & Country Leisure (UCL), is to launch a £2m London nightclub called DIU.

The club, which will be run outside the UCL estate, is backed by several private investors, including former Thistle Hotels owner Andy Ruhan, through Bridgehouse Capital. Sanders is also planning to open a DIU in New York.

The London venue, which launches in March, will be located in Greek Street in Soho and already has a party for music channel MTV and three celebrity birthday parties planned for its opening month.

Interior designers Tibbatts Kirk Abel who worked on Movida, One Below and Chinawhite, are responsible for the design of the club.

Sanders said; “DIU will be a very different kind of London nightclub experience. The emphasis will be very much based on an intimate, yet unforgettable club experience. While Soho has been much maligned over the years, it very much represents the rich tapestry of London society where bohemia meets modernism, where fashion, music, TV, film, publishing and media all converge."

And he dismissed concerns over the economic condition of the London nightclub scene, hit hard by youth unemployment. “Like any business in the hospitality sector, its all about the offering, what you give to your customer, by way of product, its design, aesthetics, ambience and atmosphere. But most of all its your personal approach, the attention to detail, selecting the right location. Boutique clubs are very much back in vogue,” he said.

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By Neil Gerrard

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