A hard-hitting investigative report from The Financial Times has lifted the lid on a charity fundraiser where the all-male guests are tended to by 130 hostesses told to wear skimpy black dresses.
Described on the night as the "most un-PC event of the year", The Presidents Club Charity Dinner, the FT reports, has been on the London social calendar for 33 years and gone largely uncovered by news media.
However, given the current emphasis on sexual harassment and business culture, the publication sent two reporters undercover to work as hostesses on the night.
The FT reports that many hostesses were objectified over the course of the evening, being subjected to "groping, lewd comments and repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms".
One man was reported to have exposed his genitals to a hostess. Other attendees, the FT said, repeatedly tried to put their hands up hostesses' skirts.
The event had an illustrious list of attendees, including advertising executives, financiers, film producers, politicians and bankers.
Since its inception, the event has raised £20 million (NZ$38 million) for charity, the Financial Times reports. The most recent event raised £2 million.
The hostesses were all selected on appearance and were asked to wear tight black dresses, black high heels and a thick black belt resembling a corset, the FT says.
Their brief was simply to keep the group of powerful men happy.
One hostess, according to the FT, was asked whether she was a prostitute by a man in his seventies, while another had her legs, stomach, bottom and hips fondled. Another man tried to lunge at and kiss hostess. Another was invited upstairs to a room.
Asked by the FT for comment, The Presidents Club said that it was appalled by the allegations.
"The Presidents Club recently hosted its annual dinner, raising several million pounds for disadvantaged children," the organisation said in the statement to London-based news organisation.
"The organisers are appalled by the allegations of bad behaviour at the event asserted by the Financial Times reporters. Such behaviour is totally unacceptable. The allegations will be investigated fully and promptly and appropriate action taken."