Robin Birley, the London club impresario behind 5 Hertford Street and Oswald’s, is reportedly closing in on a Palm Beach property to open a U.S. outpost meant to go head to head with Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. The idea is to bring Birley’s private-members model stateside with a flashier, pool-focused footprint than his low-lit Mayfair rooms. The move comes as a steady wave of wealthy British buyers and a handful of high-profile names quietly reshapes the island’s social scene.
According to The Guardian, Birley is “close to securing a property” in Palm Beach and has been consulting art advisers and top interior designers on the project. The outlet reports that the venture is part financed by the billionaire Reuben brothers and would feature an outdoor swimming pool and American-style interiors. Birley previously opened a club, Maxime’s, on New York’s Madison Avenue in 2025 as part of the same expansion push.
Birley’s club pedigree
Birley built his reputation on intimate, old-world Mayfair rooms where royals, financiers and film stars gather for discreet dinners and late-night deals. Tatler has profiled Oswald’s and 5 Hertford Street as blue-door institutions favored by the British establishment, which gives the new Palm Beach site built-in cachet among wealthy transatlantic members. That stamp of exclusivity helps explain why his brand appeals to investors and to U.K. buyers who want familiar social networks abroad along with their sunshine.
Why Palm Beach?
Birley’s timing tracks with what agents describe as a pronounced uptick in British interest in the island, where “there have been at least 20 major home sales to British buyers since December 2025,” brokers told The Guardian. Local brokers say buyers are drawn by the weather, tax rules and the chance to move inside an already tight social circuit that includes Mar-a-Lago. A Birley club would give that crowd a new, more discreet place to gather, a step removed from the high-profile spectacle of Trump’s compound.
What it could mean for Mar-a-Lago and the island
Mar-a-Lago is still the island’s most visible club, and its official site, the Mar-a-Lago Club website, lists the estate at 1100 South Ocean Boulevard. Its prominence has long shaped traffic patterns, security and luxury listings along South Ocean Boulevard. The Secret Service’s closures and related security measures have in recent years affected nearby listings and access, a dynamic real-estate reporters have documented. Inman has noted that long-running closures and escorts can change how agents market homes around the club.
For now, the Palm Beach deal is not finalized, and Birley’s team has not issued a public statement. If the transaction goes through, the club would join a growing roster of transatlantic private-member venues and could subtly redirect where the island’s U.K. newcomers spend their evenings. Local officials, planners and residents will likely watch how designers, investors and regulators move the project from well-sourced tipline to reality.
