THE HOME of Southampton live music institution The Brook is to be sold off for around £900,000 by well-known city construction magnate Patrick Trant.

Some of the giants of the music industry such as Bill Wyman, John Martin and even movie star Stephen Seagal, pictured, have played at the venue. It will continue to run unaffected by any change of ownership of its building.

The Brooks owner Bryn Lewis said: "We have got a 20 year lease, so whoever owns the freehold has to honour that. It's very much business as usual regardless of who owns the lease."

The Brook, in Portswood Road, has staged more than 3,500 gigs since it opened 13 years ago. It is part of a portfolio of personal investments held by Mr Trant which are separate from his business interests.

A source close to the deal said: "Patrick is one of the shrewdest businessmen in Southampton and like anyone else who put money into bricks and mortar over the past couple of decades, he will have seen good returns."

The sale is a rare glimpse of part of the considerable wealth of one of the area's most successful sons.

He heads up the family empire as chairman of construction group Trant, which has 800 staff and a projected turnover for this year of £85m.

The £5.9m sale of the Harbour House Casino to the Stanley Leisure in June was the last time details emerged of his private holdings.

A joint owner of the site with business partner Razmik Gharibian-Saki, he has refused to rule out returning to the casino business again in the future.

A director of Saints' parent Southampton Leisure Holdings after buying £80,000 worth of shares in October last year, he is also on the board of The Rose Bowl, parent of Hampshire Cricket.

In another claim to fame, he is the only man in the country to hold a position on both a football and cricket board.