Studio 55 boss John Kiernan has emerged as a possible rival bidder for the Surf Club after The Club owners MEF Ltd. declared an interest in the Hamilton waterfront site.

However both were keen to point out that they needed to think hard before any firm proposal is put to Surf Club operators Paget Partners Ltd.

MEF is thought to be interested in the site as an alternative site for The Club, in Bermudiana Road, which is to be turned into a restaurant.

But MEF director Emilio Barbieri stressed that nothing had been cast in stone.

He said: "There are a lot of rumours but we are not in a position at the moment to say exactly what we are going to do. The night club scene is tough.'' The Surf Club closes at the end of the month after a succession of owners have struggled to make a go of it.

And speculators will face stiff competition from Club 40 which opened in August on the site of the former Odyssey nightclub in Front Street.

That had closed earlier in the year after running up debts of more than $140,000.

Studio 55's John Kiernan said: "I inquired about the Surf Club but I only want to find out if it's a viable option.'' Since reopening in April this year the Surf Club had featured comedian Jimmy Keys.

However Mr. Kiernan said the show formula was difficult to make work: "I used to work at the Sonesta where we had a captive audience of 750 guests yet we'd only get about 75 turn up to our shows.

"If you don't have that captive audience it's even harder to get people in.'' He said there had been a massive contraction in the nightclub scene since the heyday of the seventies and early eighties.

He said: "There used to be people queuing round the block for Disco 40 in the 70s every night of the week.

"People aged 18 to 19 could not wait to get out of the house. These days they're watching cable TV.'' He also said the decline of the tourism trade had hit nightclub owners hard.

"Club 55 is thriving because we offer a diverse formula. But I reckon we lose about 30 percent of our customers each year.

"You find they get married after meeting at the club and they don't want to go out any more or they get religion. So you constantly have to get new people in. You are constantly reinventing the wheel.'' BUSINESS BUC