Investigation over risk to multi-million pound charity property
What was announced
The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into The House of St Barnabas in Soho (Charity number 207242-1).
Key points, in the publisher's words
- The House of St Barnabas was set up in 1862 to provide temporary relief and support to people experiencing homelessness and it entered liquidation in January 2024. Linked to this charity was The House of St Barnabas in Soho . As a result of the liquidation a new corporate trustee, The Explorers Club (Soho), was appointed to the charity, in place of The House of St Barnabas.
- The Explorers Club (Soho) then entered into a licence in early 2026 with the private company The Explorers Club (London) Ltd (‘TEC(London)’) allowing TEC(London) to use the charity’s property located at 1 Greek Street, to run a private members club and collect members’ fees. The licence fee would generate income for the charity and allow it to continue operating.
- Last month, the regulator received a serious incident report informing it that the charity has been a victim of fraud as it disputes a loan that has been secured against its property at 1 Greek Street. The loan appears not to have been repaid and, as a result, the creditor is taking steps to recover its loan. The Commission has concerns that the charity’s main asset – the 1 Greek Street property – is at serious risk.
Check it against the official record
The latest official figures on the subjects this story covers, each with its source and full history:
Who and where
UK bodies of power
- The Charity Commission (non ministerial department) · more news
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: Charities and social enterprises.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/investigation-over-risk-to-multi-million-pound-charity-property
- Published 2026-11-05 16:01:43 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-11-05 16:15:46 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 8672, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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