Hugh Grant: Too old?

London, Feb. 19: Its membership list includes fortysomething star names such as Hugh Grant, Madonna and Johnny Depp.

But now one of London’s most prestigious private clubs is introducing membership rules that would effectively bar such celebrities from joining.

Soho House, a favourite haunt of Hollywood stars and London’s media glitterati, is to “actively discourage” people aged over 27 from joining, amid fears that its membership is becoming too middle-aged and that it is losing its edge.

The club, which boasts a membership of 1,700, has established a special vetting committee of young members to plough through its three-year waiting list of would-be members. The committee is being asked to select younger members who will be more in keeping with the image the club is seeking to cultivate.

For the first time in its 11-year history, the venue, based on the site of a 1930s cinema in Greek Street, has also introduced a half-price membership scheme for younger people.

More than 70 per cent of its existing members, who currently pay ?500 a year, have a direct link with the film industry.

But the hugh growth in the number of rival venues means that competition for the “right kind of member” is becoming increasingly fierce.

Nick Jones, the club’s owner, insisted last night that there would not be an automatic ban on members born before 1979. But he admitted that the club was “actively discouraging” older members.

“A good club has to evolve with the passing of time.... Of course a lot of the original membership are now slightly older, and we want to ensure we are getting new blood in. We are not talking about an absolute ban. Rather we are actively discouraging people who are over 27 from joining.

“The venue is as popular as it ever was but we want to ensure that it will still be as popular in 10 years,” he said.

The new rules would effectively bar some of the club’s most famous regulars, such as Nicole Kidman, 38, Robbie Williams, 32 and Zoe Ball, 35 - never mind Madonna, 47, Grant, 45, and Depp, 42 ? from joining.

Even Jones, 42, himself and his wife Kirsty Young, 37, the Channel Five news reader, will be considered ineligible.

Soho House, which boasts three storeys and a roof terrace, gives members access to three dinning rooms, a drawing room and a private cinema. They also gain access to the Electric House club in Notting Hill, and the Babington House hotel near Bath.

Other perks include access to the Soho House boat at the Cannes Film Festival and admission to a special Oscars party in Los Angeles.

Since it opened its doors in 1995, the club has been rarely out of the headlines.

Its reputation as a celebrity haunt means that even Visit Britain, the organisation responsible for promoting the country overseas, mentions it on its list of must-see places. Not all of the publicity has, however, been favourable.

In 2002, Sadie Frost and Jude Law's two-year-old daughter Iris was rushed to hospital over the weekend after swallowing part of an ecstasy tablet at a children's party at the club. A furious Law reportedly threatened to boycott the venue in the light of the incident.

The enormous success of the club has led to the opening of sister venues overseas.In May 2003 a branch opened in New York and is planning another outlet in Miami.

The New York venue, which was an instant success, featured in an episode of Sex and the City. It is not, however, offering a special discount for younger members.

Some members have drawn unfavourable comparisons between the New York and the London establishments.

One online review of the London club claims that it is "getting on in age" and accuses management of "letting in the wrong kind of people".