A Champ at Tramp: Luca Maggiora on His Revival of the Iconic Venue

Following a closure, financier-turned-nightclub entrepreneur Luca Maggiora has breathed new life into this iconic spot, transforming Tramp into a swanky private members’ club, all while preserving its original spirit and culture of discretion.

Maggiora turned his attention to members’ clubs after noticing a major shift in the nightclub scene. He sold his roster of nightclubs, including Luxx and Toy Room, and promptly snapped up Tramp. Last September, he launched his bold new iteration, creating a “home away from home” for a multigenerational community.

“For me, it wasn’t just about opening another club and calling it Luca. Who would come?” Maggiora explains. “The only thing that money can’t buy in this business is the heritage and history of a brand. If I had to think about the heritage of members’ clubs in London, the best of the best, the only name that came to mind was Tramp.”

“The process took years. It wasn’t easy to buy it from the previous owner, but eventually I managed to do it. I managed to sell all my nightclubs,” Maggiora says. “It was a big task, financially, physically and mentally, to bring back such an institution.”

Despite the enormity of the venture, Maggiora couldn’t wait to get stuck in: “I was excited to breathenew life into the project. I really believed that I was the right person [for it].”

The multi-million pound refurbishment was a chance for Maggiora to add his own stamp while honouring Tramp’s legacy. He enlisted the help of art and design atelier Campbell-Rey, creating a visually striking space laden with plush velvets, jewel tones and lacquered walls.

“We cannot have people who are familiar with the old Tramp coming inside saying, ‘This is nothing like the old Tramp’, so we needed to keep some of the original features”, Maggiora reveals. “We kept the original zodiac ceiling in the restaurant, and we kept the 17th century wooden panels in the main room.”

Reflecting on his favourite room, Maggiora reveals he has a soft spot for Jackie’s Lounge, a room which was created in honour of Jackie Collins, the famous novelist and wife of Tramp co-founder, Oscar Lerman.

“It’s very difficult to find that kind of wood panel work and definition, especially in central London. The ceilings are extremely high, so there’s this beautiful sense of space,” he muses. “The room has such a history. When you go inside, you really feel the energy of the past.”

Elsewhere, the Canopy Bar is an oasis of warmth and opulence. Located on the ground floor, the area is resplendent with cinnabar-red lacquered walls, velvet banquettes and glimmering brass Maison Jansen stools. Beyond, double doors open to reveal The Society dining room, a subterranean restaurant swathed in velvet and crowned with Tramp’s iconic Zodiac ceiling embellished with shimmering silver leaf.

In a nod to the original members’ favourite dishes, the menu features the legendary Tramp hamburger, served on original silverware emblazoned with the 1980s logotype.

Despite preserving much of Tramp’s heritage, Maggiora significantly shook things up when it came to the club’s membership, introducing one new rule to rebuild the place as it was in the past.

“I had to start from scratch,” he tells us. “I took the old membership list and cancelled everybody. The main rule was that everybody had to personally meet me for a coffee before applying for membership. At the time, people said, ‘Luca, you cannot possibly meet 5,000 people in the next two years, one by one’, and I told them, ‘Watch me.’”

Of the multigenerational aspect of the venue, he continues: “I wanted to allow members to come with their father and mother. I cannot change the DNA of Tramp. Tramp was always fun, but at the same time, people in these age brackets don’t go out clubbing anymore. I can’t have a dance floor in the main room, because otherwise the room will always be empty.

"Once a month we do a dance floor night, when we bring back the party. We also need to open from lunchtime, because we need to be an all-day, all-evening members’ club. We don’t make an exception for anyone. A member could be the king of a country... Everybody is going to be treated the same.”

While the original membership fee of 10 guineas is still reserved for some 50 people, Maggiora maintains that Tramp can’t have a fixed annual price system because “it doesn’t work anymore in 2025.”

His zeal for hospitality is plain to see: “I always put myself in the shoes of my members and my customers in everything that I’ve been doing. It’s important for people to meet me and to see me when it’s empty, and when it’s busy. Sometimes, I’ll spend one hour talking to them. Sometimes it’s just 50 seconds.”

Such passion can in part be attributed to his Italian upbringing. The Turin-born club owner argues that it runs in his blood. “In Italy, we have a school called Alberghiero, which specialises in hospitality and tourism. Hospitality – and being the host– it’s part of our culture,” he says. “My Italian accent is so strong, even after 20 years, but a few years ago, I told myself, ‘You know what? No, I’m Italian, let’s do it even bigger.’”

In the wake of Tramp’s early success, Maggiora is already knee-deep into his next project, Tramp Health. Set to open in spring in Grosvenor Square, this new venture is in line with the exponential growth of wellbeing trends.

“There isn’t anywhere in central London where I can have everything together in one space – a place where I can have a wellness-focused café, an old-school gym, Megaformer Pilates, Reformer Pilates, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, HIT, massage rooms and a community,” Maggiora says.

“As with Tramp, we will meet everybody one by one, we will create a community. I saw a place a year ago that I thought would be perfect for Tramp Health, and I bid on that place together with many other groups. It’s officially opening next spring. We start building on Monday.”

tramp.co.uk