Private members' club Neuehouse was meant to open in London - but now it has abandoned its plans

LONDON - Neuehouse, the American private members' club, has abandoned its plan to expand to London, and will no longer lease space in London's historic Adelphi Building, Business Insider has learned.

Back in 2014, as London's technology scene really started to scale, it started to become even more of a destination for international entrepreneurs.

There was a thriving business in catering to the city's technology scene, and international office companies like WeWork started to expand to London.

American private members' club Neuehouse decided to bring its luxury offices to the city. The company, started in New York in 2013, styles itself as a "workspace for creative people and entrepreneurs as well as events," and enforces a 50/50 gender split in its membership.

Neuehouse found a suitably prestigious location for its London offices: the first and second floors of the Adelphi Building in Covent Garden. It planned to open a 65,000 square foot office space in the historic building, which was built in 1748 and remodelled in Art Deco style in the 1930s. Neuehouse claimed that it had a "multi million pound construction budget" to bring its private members' club to London.

The grand announcement of Neuehouse's first international expansion was made at an event in New York in 2014, which featured the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The announcement of Neuehouse's international expansion attracted press coverage from outlets including The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Fortune.

Neuehouse targeted a Spring 2016 launch date for its London location, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company hired Ian Minor, an experienced venue manager, as its director of operations in London. It also brought in hotel industry veteran Marieke Schellen as director of people and culture to oversee the hiring of staff for the venue.

The website for Neuehouse London promised a full-service restaurant, an on-site flower shop, meeting rooms, and even a broadcasting studio. It all sounded as if London was about to get a brand new, high-end space for companies to work from.

But sources close to Neuehouse have told Business Insider that the company has scrapped its plan to open in London, and it's no longer leasing space in the Adelphi Building.

The Neuehouse London website was quietly deleted at the end of 2016, and the listing for "London" on Neuehouse's homepage has also been deleted.

The website for the Adelphi Building used to list Neuehouse as a tenant that occupied the first and second floors. It also deleted all references to Neuehouse London from its website at the end of 2016.

A receptionist at the Adelphi Building told Business Insider that "they're not based here" when asked about Neuehouse. "On their website it says they are," they said. "But they're not."

Minor and Schellen, two of the staff members hired to oversee the construction and launch of Neuehouse London, have now left the company.

It's not clear what's now going to happen to the first and second floors of the Adelphi Building. Neuehouse did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Blackstone, the private equity company that owns the Adelphi Building, declined to comment.