Industry | Serviced offices |
---|---|
Founded | 2011 |
Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Jon Hunt |
Products | Business members' clubs |
Website | pavilion |
Pavilion is a British business members' club co-founded by the UK property entrepreneur Jon Hunt and his daughter Emma. It opened under the name "Dryland" on London's Kensington High Street at the end of 2011, offering work space.
Media coverage of Pavilion's launch centred on the firm being one of the first public projects for Jon Hunt following his sale of Foxtons[1] in a May 2007 deal that made him one of the wealthiest people in the UK.[2]
Hunt has said that he originally entered the serviced office business only by accident, after buying a 1970s office building in London's Battersea district that he intended to convert into residential homes, only for planning officials to refuse permission for residential use.[3]
Pavilion claims to be the first "premium offering" in the serviced offices sector, providing members with private dining by in-house chefs and a concierge service.[4] The Financial Times describes Pavilion as providing "...the atmosphere of a private members club and the hospitality of a five-star hotel."[5]
In December 2015 the club launched at its premises The Ivy at Pavilion brasserie, a sister restaurant to The Ivy.[6]
The first Pavilion club opened on Kensington High Street at the end of 2011. The Hunts plan to expand the concept.[7][8]
The founder of London's largest estate agency Foxtons today sold the business to a private equity firm in a deal believed to have netted him a windfall of around £370m. Jon Hunt, who is thought to own 97% of the business, agreed a deal with BC Partners, reported to be worth up to £400m. The two companies did not provide any financial details.
He has been lying low ever since, adding to his already considerable fortune
"It was a total accident," he said, when asked how his Dryland venture started.
Foxton founder Jon Hunt's latest venture has added a luxury sparkle to the traditional serviced offices model
[Hunt's] noticed that, however generous your living quarters, working at home is not everyone's cup of tea.
Dryland seeks to combine prime office and business-lounge facilities with a luxury hotel-style service...the first club has a cafe, library and terrace as well as a conference center and meeting rooms.