The Social Company
The Social Company is a privately held, founder-owned restaurant group led by chef Jason Atherton, operating a portfolio of approximately 13 fine-dining and casual restaurants across London, Dubai, AlUla, Cebu, and St Moritz, serving affluent diners and luxury hotel partners through directly operated venues and joint ventures.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What The Social Company does
The Social Company is a privately held, founder-owned restaurant and hospitality group established in 2010 by celebrity chef Jason Atherton and legally registered as Jason Atherton Restaurant Holdings Ltd in the United Kingdom. The group operates a portfolio of approximately 13 restaurants and bars spanning London (City Social, Berners Tavern, Little Social, Three Darlings, Row on 5, Sael, Harrods Social, HotDogs by Three Darlings, Social Eating House, The Blind Pig), Dubai (City Social Dubai, 7 Tales Dubai), AlUla in Saudi Arabia (Maraya Social), Cebu in the Philippines (The Pig & Palm), and St Moritz in Switzerland (King's SocialHouse, operated in joint venture with Badrutt's Palace Hotel). City Social holds a Michelin star, and Berners Tavern was described as 'the defining restaurant of the decade'. The group has 101–250 employees and is headquartered at 13 Pollen Street, London.
The business generates revenue across five streams: (i) restaurant dining across the directly operated and JV portfolio, (ii) hospitality consultancy and project management for hoteliers and entrepreneurs, (iii) external catering for private events and corporate hospitality, (iv) branded merchandise and four cookbooks, and (v) gift voucher sales through per-venue giftpro.co.uk storefronts. Distribution combines directly operated restaurants, joint-venture partnerships with luxury hoteliers (Badrutt's Palace, Grosvenor House / Marriott Luxury Collection), brand ambassador relationships with luxury houses (Moët & Chandon, Audemars Piguet, Aston Martin, Heathrow VIP), and a within-store retail concept at Harrods. The core offering is culinary expertise and chef-led quality control rather than proprietary technology; the underlying platform is the founder's personal brand, the seconded operations teams, and curated JV partnerships. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set on a per-venue basis. The company is founder-controlled, with no external institutional investment or parent disclosed.
The Social Company firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Social Company
- Legal name
- Jason Atherton Restaurant Holdings Ltd
- Website
- https://jasonatherton.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- The Social Company is a privately held, founder-owned restaurant group led by chef Jason Atherton, operating a portfolio of approximately 13 fine-dining and casual restaurants across London, Dubai, AlUla, Cebu, and St Moritz, serving affluent diners and luxury hotel partners through directly operated venues and joint ventures.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Social Company industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Fine Dining Restaurants
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410), Caterers (722320)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK), Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH), Lounge Bars & Hotel Bars (THAFAEAI)
Keywords
Where The Social Company is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices12 records
Markets served
The Social Company business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Restaurant Dining: The primary revenue stream is from restaurant dining across the group's portfolio of restaurants and bars. Customers pay for meals and beverages at each venue, with individual restaurants located in premium destinations including London, Dubai, AlUla, Cebu, and St Moritz.
- Consultancy and Project Management Services: The Social Company provides consultancy services to businesses within the hospitality sector, including upmarket contract caterers and private dining/corporate hospitality events. The group also project manages and runs new restaurants in association with hoteliers and entrepreneurs, typically as joint-venture arrangements.
- External Catering: The group offers outside catering services, travelling to any location to recreate restaurant offerings or create bespoke dining experiences for private events, dinner parties, and exclusive pop-ups.
- Merchandise and Book Sales: The company sells cookbooks and branded merchandise through external platforms (py.pl links), including titles such as Pollen Street Social, Social Sweets, and Social Suppers.
- Gift Vouchers: Each restaurant within the group sells gift vouchers through dedicated giftpro.co.uk storefronts, providing a further revenue stream and customer acquisition mechanism.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
The Social Company product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Social Company is a multi-site restaurant and hospitality group founded by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, operating fine dining restaurants and bars across London and international destinations (Dubai, AlUla, the Bahamas, and Saudi Arabia). In addition to operating its own restaurant venues, the company provides hospitality consultancy, project management, and external catering services, and partners with luxury hotels on joint-venture restaurants staffed by seconded chefs and F&B teams.
Product overview
The Social Company is a globally renowned restaurant group founded by chef Jason Atherton. Rather than a unified technology product, it operates as a diversified hospitality portfolio comprising multiple distinct restaurants and bars across London, international locations (including Dubai, Cebu, St Moritz, and AlUla), as well as published cookbooks and catering/consulting services. Each restaurant has its own unique identity and characteristics with no set template, ranging from Michelin-starred fine dining (City Social) to casual concepts (HotDogs by Three Darlings). The company also extends its brand through cookbook publishing, external catering services, and commercial hospitality consultancy.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- City Social: Michelin-starred restaurant in London, with a branch also in Dubai.
- Three Darlings
- Sael
- Row on 5
- The Pig & Palm
- King's SocialHouse
- Harrods Social
- Berners Tavern
- Little Social
- Maraya Social
- 7 Tales Dubai
- The Blind Pig
- Social Eating House
Products and services
- City Social
Quantifiable outcome
- Pollen Street Social received a Michelin star within six months of opening and 5 AA Rosettes
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Social Company
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Social Company technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Social Company partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Badrutt's Palace HotelcoreKing's SocialHouse is operated as a joint-venture partnership at Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St Moritz, Switzerland. Jason Atherton's team is seconded to the project and he takes a direct role in quality control. The partnership enables the restaurant to leverage the luxury hotel's affluent clientele and premium alpine positioning.
- Grosvenor House (Luxury Collection by Marriott)coreThe Social Company operates restaurant concepts at Grosvenor House, a Luxury Collection hotel in Dubai. The partnership follows the joint-venture model where key personnel are seconded to the project and Jason Atherton maintains direct quality oversight.
- Moët & ChandonminorJason Atherton serves as a brand ambassador for Moët & Chandon, the luxury champagne house. This partnership involves mutual brand elevation, with Moët & Chandon leveraging his culinary authority in luxury lifestyle contexts.
- Audemars Piguet Savoir FaireminorJason Atherton is a brand ambassador for Audemars Piguet Savoir Faire, the luxury watchmaker. The partnership aligns his culinary brand with the ultra-luxury watch segment.
- Aston MartinminorJason Atherton is a brand ambassador for Aston Martin, the luxury automotive brand. The partnership enhances brand visibility among high-net-worth individuals in the luxury automotive and lifestyle segments.
- Heathrow VIPminorBrand partnership with Heathrow VIP providing VIP hospitality experiences, extending The Social Company's reach to affluent travellers at one of the world's busiest international airports.
- Hospitality ActionminorJason and Irha Atherton support Hospitality Action, a charity providing assistance to hospitality industry workers in times of need. This represents the company's charitable giving and social responsibility efforts within the hospitality sector.
- JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)minorThe Athertons support JDRF, a charitable organisation focused on type 1 diabetes research.
- MSY Charitable FoundationminorThe Athertons support the MSY Charitable Foundation as part of their philanthropic activities.
- David Nichols Spinal Injury FoundationminorThe Athertons support the David Nichols Spinal Injury Foundation as part of their charitable giving programme.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Social Company competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Hawksmoor: UK premium restaurant group with multiple London and New York sites. Comparable to The Social Company as a founder-led, multi-site UK restaurant group competing for premium diners and industry recognition.
- Birley Group: London-based operator of premium restaurants and private members' clubs (Harry's Bar, Annabel's). Comparable to The Social Company in the London luxury dining and private events space.
- D&D London: UK-based premium restaurant group operating multiple upscale London and international venues under a single portfolio model. Comparable to The Social Company across multi-site fine-dining operations, hotel partnerships, and chef-led restaurant concepts.
- Nobu: Celebrity-chef-led global restaurant group (Nobu Matsuhisa / Robert De Niro) with hotels, restaurants, and residences worldwide. Highly comparable in leveraging a celebrity chef's brand to expand into luxury hotels and international destinations.
- Caprice Holdings: London-based restaurant group operating iconic premium venues (The Ivy, Scott's, Le Caprice, Bacchanalia). Closely comparable to The Social Company in the London fine-dining and special-occasion restaurant category.
- The Wolseley Hospitality Group: Operates iconic London grand-café and restaurant venues (The Wolseley, Delaunay, Brasserie Zédel). Directly comparable as a London-based portfolio of premium, destination restaurants with a focus on heritage and special-occasion dining.
- Gordon Ramsay Restaurants: Global celebrity-chef restaurant group founded by Gordon Ramsay, with whom Jason Atherton previously worked. Operates Michelin-starred venues globally and competing directly in the chef-driven luxury dining space.
Emerging players
- Major Food Group: US-based celebrity-chef restaurant group (Carbone, Dirty French, Sadelle's) with global expansion. Comparable as a chef-driven, multi-concept group scaling luxury restaurant brands internationally.
Broad incumbents
- Zuma: International Japanese fine-dining restaurant and lounge brand with locations in London, Dubai, New York, and other global luxury cities. Comparable to The Social Company in premium international footprint and affluent global traveller customer base.
Others
- Marriott Luxury Collection (operator of partner restaurants): While a hotel brand rather than a restaurant group, Marriott Luxury Collection is a current JV partner (Grosvenor House) and broadly comparable as a luxury hospitality counterpart that commissions high-end restaurant operations within its hotels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Social Company social profiles
Digital presenceThe Social Company financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Social Company leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
The Social Company funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Social Company M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Social Company
What does The Social Company do?
The Social Company is a multi-site restaurant and hospitality group founded by Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, operating fine dining restaurants and bars across London and international destinations (Dubai, AlUla, the Bahamas, and Saudi Arabia). In addition to operating its own restaurant venues, the company provides hospitality consultancy, project management, and external catering services, and partners with luxury hotels on joint-venture restaurants staffed by seconded chefs and F&B teams.
Is The Social Company a public or private company?
The Social Company is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was The Social Company founded?
The Social Company was founded in 2010. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is The Social Company based?
The Social Company is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Social Company make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Restaurant Dining is the primary driver. The others are consultancy and Project Management Services, external Catering, merchandise and Book Sales and gift Vouchers.
Who are The Social Company's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Hawksmoor, Birley Group, D&D London, Nobu, Caprice Holdings, The Wolseley Hospitality Group and Gordon Ramsay Restaurants. Major Food Group is listed as an emerging player. Zuma is listed as a broad incumbent. Marriott Luxury Collection (operator of partner restaurants) is listed as an others.
Does The Social Company have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Social Company.
What industry is The Social Company in?
The Social Company's product category is Fine Dining Restaurants. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAA, Fine Dining Restaurants, with a secondary code of THAFACAK, Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.