This latest round-up again includes a free sample item - but the wider press coverage of Clubland is reserved for paying members. It remains the best way to keep informed about clubs making the news worldwide.
The LA Times, in an investigation also reported by the Daily Mail and NDTV, covered the litigation around the owner of a proposed new club in California.
The Bunker was mooted as a $14,500-a-month car-themed club in Hollywood, touted as “the ultimate man cave” and “the Soho House for car lovers”, which promised its members “access to a $50 million fleet of supercars including Bugattis, Ferraris, Porsches, alongside lavish dining, exclusive wine and private smoking lounges.” It was claimed that the Club would launch just as soon as its holding company purchased the historic Beverly Hills Hotel, which would become its headquarters. Investors were also approached for funding a second branch in Dubai, according to court filings.
However, its owner, 33-year-old David Bren, is being sued over millions in dollars raised from two investors, after the Club failed to materialise. The venture, it is claimed in papers filed, was a “charade designed to lure investors…to fund his own extravagant lifestyle”, and traded off the prestige of Bren’s reclusive 92-year-old billionaire father, Donald Bren.
Donald Bren gave the LA Times a rare comment, through his spokesperson Paul Hernandez, of just a dozen words:
“We do not have a personal or business relationship with this individual.”
The lawsuits allege that while raising money for the sceheme from 2020 to 2022, David Bren misappropriated funds raised for The Bunker, to cover personal expenses. The Daily Mail reports:
The entire project was all anchored under the prestige of the Bren surname.
But lawsuits say The Bunker was nothing more than smoke, mirrors, and well-dressed PowerPoint slides.
“The Bunker does not exist. There is no ultra-high end automotive club. There are no members. The business is a mirage,” one lawsuit bluntly alleges.
A promotional video by Bren, publicising The Bunker in May 2021.
Lawyers for David Bren declined to comment to the LA Times. The paper notes:
“Some close to Bren say the 33-year-old’s plans were genuine, but suggested he ran into impossible headwinds trying to launch a high-end social club at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bren did not respond to messages and calls sent to emails and phone numbers listed for him in various court documents.”
The rest of the press round-up below continues to be a feature for paying subscribers only.
This fortnight’s edition contains 13 more stories from 29 outlets, spanning clubs across Australia, Austria, Italy, Singapore, the UK and USA.
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