COMPANY HISTORY
Company Directors Alex Rutherford and Olly Bengough met in 1999, when both were involved in the development of Lunasa on the Kings Road. Identifying common interests, they entered into business together and launched the Mint Group.
A graduate in Design from Newcastle University, Alex spent his early career working for nightclub specialists Nicholson Design and London based agency Redhouse Design. After leaving school, Olly travelled extensively broadening his awareness of different cultures. A 6-month stint working in a busy Dublin Bar followed by working in the City gave him hands on experience that would later prove invaluable to the Mint Group ethos.
In 2000 Lunasa was short-listed by the Evening Standard as one of the Top 10 bars in London. At the time Olly, who masterminded the project, was just 23-years old.
In 2001 Alex and Olly launched the Mint Group. Blending operational skills with business acumen and a practical approach to design aesthetics, the pair struck upon a winning formula.
Recognising unexploited potential for a mass-market club in South London, the pair opened Clapham based Infernos in July 2001. Eager to service a similarly affluent clientele in neighbouring Fulham they launched the Elk Bar in September 2003.
In 2004 the group added the Camden live music venue KOKO to their roster which, after an extensive refurbishment, has become one of London's premier live music venues. The venue delivers an unrivalled program of live shows, TV and digital entertainment to a global audience of millions and sees 400,000 music fans step through its doors annually.
KOKO has hosted shows from the likes of Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna and Prince over the past 5 years. The home of "London Live", a globally broadcast music TV show with an audience of 300 million, and also its own prime time Channel 4 TV show "KOKO Pop", now in its 4th series, the show has featured artists such as Justin Bieber and Usher.
In 2002, the Mint Group staged their first festival event, Latin Splash, on Clapham Common and over the past three years they have been responsible for bringing artists such as Paul Oakenfold, Moloko and Jamiroqui to South London for audiences of 60,000 capacity.
In 2006 the company diversified further, by launching TMG Properties, an arm of the company dedicated toward urban development. The most recent project, Mint Lodges, is a luxury log cabin development set to rejuvenate Cumbrian Tourism.
In February 2009 the company launched a TV channel. Cinémoi is the first and only channel dedicated to French film, and is now available in 15 million homes on Sky and Virgin. The channel has been endorsed by some of the biggest names in film including Michael Caine, Steven Berkoff, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Birkin amongst others.
In 2010, Cinemoi teamed up with renowned fashion journalist Hilary Alexander to produce Cine Couture, a series of 6 hour-long shows exploring the world of fashion and film. Each show is dedicated to a designer and to date Karl Lagerfeld, John-Paul Gaultier and Pierre Cardin have all been featured.