Soho clubs under threat

They are icons of the West End - one a louche nightclub and the other a hangover from Soho's seedy past. But now both Madame Jo Jo's and the Raymond Revue Bar could be turned into a new superclub and restaurant.

Millionaire restaurateur Mark Fuller is understood to have plans that could spell the end of the road for the two Soho nightspots.

The takeover of the Raymond Revue Bar in particular - a long-running strip club - would see one famous old Soho name disappear.

Mr Fuller, the man behind West End venues Sugar Reef and Red Cube, is one of several possible buyers of both venues. He confirmed he is "looking at the financial viability of buying three adjacent properties". The other is said to be the Escape bar.

The plan would involve combining all three to create a new venue. This would house a 150-cover restaurant with a 500-capacity club. According to Restaurant magazine, the venue has been provisionally named "Angel".

Fuller says he became convinced of the need for such a major new venue when running another nightclub, Embassy - a Mayfair venue he launched two years ago. "Embassy is a bespoke restaurant and we found we were turning non-members who wanted dinner and dance away at weekends," he said. "We want to open something a bit more fun."

Garry Hollihead, who runs the kitchens at Mr Fuller's other restaurants, will be Angel's executive chef, and the menu is likely to feature so- called Pacific Rim food.

But the deal is not yet sealed: West End entertainment licences are notoriously hard to come by and there is expected to be stiff competition for the leases. Adam Ratzker, of Shelley Sandzer property agents, which is

selling the Raymond Revue Bar, said the venue is attractive because of the 4am licence that comes with it.

He said: "If you get the right planning permission from Westminster council to combine all three venues, you could make an awesome club of about 12,000sq ft."