Built by people
who know the room.
Co-Founder
Rajan Bhanot
Rajan Bhanot has been building in London for over twenty years. In 2003, he founded Exclusive London — a curated digital guide to the city's restaurants, bars, and cultural life, written with editorial judgement before the algorithm existed. It became one of London's earliest digital lifestyle platforms, attracting blue-chip sponsorship and national press interest.
He spent the next fourteen years in hospitality — founding and operating three venues across Chelsea, Waterloo, and Holborn, overseeing builds from concept through to daily operations. He went on to consult for some of London's most recognisable hospitality brands.
XLDN is the question he first asked in 2003 — who controls access to London, and why does it have to cost so much to find out — finally answered.
rajan@getxldn.comCo-Founder
Ruth Crosswell
Ruth Crosswell has spent over a decade managing the lives of people who expect the impossible to simply be handled.
She began her career organising events and guest services on Necker Island — Sir Richard Branson's most private retreat — before moving to manage Son Bunyola in Mallorca, Moskito Island in the BVI, and a stint at Virgin Galactic in London and New York, because spaceships — why not. She continued at Quintessentially, serving as Elite Lifestyle Manager, and later at Ellidore as Head of Lifestyle & Membership. In 2023, she founded The Black Book Life, a by-referral global lifestyle management company for ultra-high-net-worth clients, which she continues to run alongside XLDN.
Her network is her craft. Her discretion is her currency.
ruth@getxldn.com
“We don't just know London.
We know the people who run it.”