Secrets Has its Licence Renewed After Six Month Delay

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Complaints against Glenthorne Road strip club were being investigated

Secrets has been operating since 1997

October 10, 2025

A long-standing Hammersmith strip club has had its licence renewed after two previous meetings had to be adjourned, delaying the decision by six months.

Secrets, which has traded from Glenthorne Road in Hammersmith and Fulham since 1997, applied earlier this year to renew its Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence to run until March 2026. The submission requested the continuation of the club’s existing hours, which enable it to trade until 4am six days a week and midnight on Sundays.

A hearing scheduled for 30 April, however, had to be pushed back while a video showing disorder outside the venue was investigated.

The second attempted meeting, which was due to be held on 11 June, also had to be deferred to allow time to look into an anonymous complaint. This had come at the request of the council’s Licensing Team Manager, Adrian Overton, who wrote the complainant had suggested they would be able to provide additional information if a meeting was arranged.

Ahead of last Wednesday night’s Licensing Sub-Committee meeting (October 8), a report authored by Mr Overton and dated 6 October provided further details of the anonymous complaint and his team’s conclusions.

He wrote the licensing authority had a phone call with the complainant on June 19 during which a number of allegations were made, including that sexual activity between customers and performers was occurring in certain booths, some cameras were not working and that drug use was taking place.

The council’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) lead found the issue appeared to be more of a breach of licence rather than exploitation after speaking with the complainant.

Recording a visit to the premises in September, Mr Overton wrote, “At the time of the inspection the CCTV system was working correctly, and while there was no evidence of inappropriate behaviour between performers and customers, it was noted that there was not full coverage of some of the booths on the cameras. It was also difficult to understand which cameras covered which booths.”

In his conclusion, Mr Overton wrote the venue appears to be operating “broadly” in-line with its licence.

He did, however, recommend several conditions, namely that full CCTV coverage is available in each booth, that a diagram is produced of the premises indicating the direction cameras are facing, and that any footage is held for 62 days.

Secrets’ request for a renewal had drawn opposition during the original consultation with 32 residential objections received, two of which were later rescinded. Most of these focussed on the impact of the club on local residents and the two schools, Godolphin and Latymer, and West London Free School Primary, with several also referencing an incident last November in which a fight occurred outside the premises.

One person wrote, “We are not sure how having a sexual entertainment venue in a residential area, right next to a school and private residences, was ever acceptable to the borough of H&F but to allow it to open at 6pm on weekends, when families are still out and about and with possible school activities would be very inappropriate and upsetting, not to mention further noise and disruption.”

Stephen Less, owner of Secrets, submitted a statement of his own in which he wrote the club operates strict management controls and that incidents of disorder are rare. On the video which had been circulated, he wrote the customers involved had dispersed once they were told police had been called.

He added a barman who had gotten involved was suspended and later sacked following an investigation into the incident.

Just one local resident, Benita Cruikshank, spoke at Wednesday night’s meeting. While making clear she was not strictly objecting, she said her key ask was that the venue continues to operate as it has done and does not interfere with the community.

“I’m not concerned with what goes on inside the club, I’m just concerned with what goes on outside it, particularly late at night,” she said.

Sarah Le Fevre, a barrister representing Secrets, highlighted the long-standing, continuous ownership of Secrets since its opening in 1997 and the actions, such as additional training, undertaken following the incident last November.

She also said there are plans, assuming the renewal was approved, to upgrade the external facade of the building and smarten it up.

“It’ll be a better visual neighbour than it is presently,” she said.

In her summing up, Ms Le Fevre told members, “I hope what you’ve taken from this hearing is that this is a candid organisation and a responsible organisation which has looked to extract the learning from the unacceptable incident of November of last year and apply it, apparently entirely effectively. Because there has been no repeat since.”

The sub-committee resolved to approve the renewal of the licence until March 31 next year, plus the implementation of the conditions recommended by Mr Overton and agreed by the applicant.

A spokesperson for Secrets told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), “Secrets is delighted that its SEV licence was renewed in line with its application and looks forward to continuing to work closely with its neighbours and the local authority.”

Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter

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