AN iconic nightclub has closed its doors after 26 years with fans branding it “another nail in the hospitality coffin”.
MPs are being urged to step up their efforts to help the capital’s struggling scene after Tiger Tiger London broke the news.
The club’s website has confirmed its closure[/caption]
The Piccadilly Circus branch on Haymarket Street became the chain’s flagship after it opened in 1998.
The website now features a video of clubbers letting their hair down at the huge venue along with the words: “Tiger Tiger London is now closed.
“Thank you to all patrons, promoters, DJs, staff members and partners for years of incredible memories.”
Since March 2020, more than 3,000 night-time venues have shut down across London and its outskirts.
The sudden decline is believed to be a combination of the lockdowns during the Covid pandemic and the soaring cost of living.
The venue is set to be turned into an eight-storey hotel with 507 rooms.
According to a planning application to be reviewed by Westminster City Council, the hotel will have a bar and restaurant.
Planning permission for the hotel has been in the running for a while, but a new application by Centro Planning Consultancy suggests it could be close to getting the green light.
The consultancy is seeking permission to add an eighth floor and a rooftop plant screen.
Former clubbers took to social media to share their heartbreak over the closure, with one calling it “the end of an era”.
“Our first club when we went to in London in 2009,” another added.
Jeremy Joseph, the owner of G-A-Y & Heaven nightclubs in Charing Cross wrote: “Tiger Tiger closing is another nail in the hospitality coffin, it was G-A-Y & Heaven Nightclub’s nearest venue with similar capacity. I fear for [the] future.”
Tagging Rachel Reeves, Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan he wrote: “Open your eyes, the budget needs to help small businesses and protect nightclubs. It’s not too late.”
One follower agreed: “Something needs to be done.”
The reason for the club’s closing is unknown.
The club landed in serious trouble in 2023 when boozers were served caustic soda with tequila shots rather than salt.
Owners were fined £120,000 after four women suffered burns to their mouths after licking the cleaning chemical.
According to Westminster City Council, which filed a health and safety prosecution against the club, the barman accidentally mixed up the substances in an unlit storage room.
The women started projectile vomiting and said their mouths were “burning”.
Tiger Tiger owners A3D2 Limited pleaded guilty to four health and safety breaches by “failing to ensure customers were not exposed to the risk of chemical substances.”
