Spitbank Fort has been bought by a bedding tycoon for just over £1m - just days before it was due to be auctioned at a price of around £800,000.

The iconic Solent fort has been snapped up by Clarenco, an investment firm run by entrepreneur Mike Clare, the founder of bedding chain Dreams.

Neale Brickwood, 44, bought the fort in 2005 for £500,000 alongside two co-investors.

Since then they have been carrying out a major refurbishment to encourage nightclubbers and partygoers to the venue.

In August they won approval for a massive range of uses for the fort, ranging from setting up a brewery to installing a casino in the former ammunition stores deep within the fort.

Mr Brickwood said: 'We got an offer at the tail-end of last week, and now we've accepted it. Our lawyers and agents have been working really hard and we cracked it at about half five on Monday night.

'I think they'll substantially stick with what we've done. It'll be used for high-end corporate and private parties. They'll just finish what we started.

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