BIG Sleep, the "budget chic" hotel chain part owned by Hollywood maverick John Malkovich, is on the hunt for a building in Southampton.

Plans to convert the former Inland Revenue building in Southampton docks have been abandoned after problems over access to the site and now bosses are looking for an alternative.

The brand, which is headed by Cosmo Fry, a descendant of the Fry's chocolate family, specialises in converting 60s era former office blocks into cheap but stylish hotels with rooms from £45 a night.

The flagship hotel in Cardiff docks, formerly the British Gas headquarters, was recently voted among the top 25 coolest hotels in the world.

A second hotel has just opened in Cheltenham and now they've set their sights on Southampton because "it's a regional hub".

If they do open in Southampton, it will be the fifth plan for a new hotel to be unveiled here in the past few months.

Work is well under way on the budget one star, £32 a night 124 bed Etap Hotel in WestQuay Road, as it is on the conversion to a boutique hotel of Oxford Street's White Star bar and restaurant.

Work is about to start on the "four star deluxe" Millennium Copthorne 225 bed hotel in Ocean Village. Meanwhile, hotel giant Radisson SAS plans to build a four star 204 bed hotel in East Park Terrace and another, as yet unnamed brand, is putting together plans for a three or four star 150 bed hotel on Mayflower Plaza in the city centre.

Around Southampton another series of hotel projects are under way, including at The Rose Bowl in West End and at a variety of locations in the New Forest.

Prior to the opening of any of these, the city has already seen the number of beds on offer increase by 850 since 2001.

Undeterred, a Big Sleep group spokesman said: "Cosmo Fry and his partner John Malkovich are looking for a 60s-style building in Southampton that they can convert into a hotel.

"It would be along the lines of the Big Sleep in Cardiff. We were looking at the Inland Revenue building. We were very interested, but we weren't able to proceed.

"Now we are looking for a suitable building that would be ideal for conversion into a hotel. We are also looking at Bournemouth and Eastbourne but we are very keen on Southampton."