The TV presenter fiance of "PY" Gerbeau has given her approval to the "sexy" new love of his life.

But BBC newsreader Kate Sanderson is not jealous - in fact, she warned PY he would fall for Brighton in a big way months before he finally did.

Pierre-Yves Gerbeau spent yesterday by the sea to celebrate with champagne his £65 million capture of Brighton Marina.

He told The Argus he was sorely tempted to buy his own home in the city but would wait until after his wedding next May.

The Argus exclusively revealed last month that Mr Gerbeau's firm, X-Leisure, had agreed to buy the marina's commercial property from Parkridge Developments.

Now he is keen to start discussing improvements to the marina but warned people not to expect too much too quickly.

Mr Gerbeau hopes to organise a regular series of eye-catching events and entertainment starting next spring, as well as better links between the marina's shops, bars, restaurants and cinema.

His ultimate vision is for families to feel comfortable spending all day enjoying the marina's varied activities and feel it is part of the city centre, not distant and isolated.

X-Leisure's confident plans for the marina convinced Parkridge to accept its offer although it was almost £5 million below other bids.

Paris-born Mr Gerbeau, who previously ran Disneyland Paris and the Millennium Dome, first visited Brighton three years ago. He said: "My fiance did some radio work here. The first day I really spent some time down here, I phoned her and said, 'I didn't realise Brighton was so cool!'. She said, 'I know, I've told you that so many times before'.

"There are lots of places in England which try to promote themselves as sexy but fail.

"Here in Brighton you think you're okay but everyone else sees Brighton as a sexy place to be and somewhere they'd love to live.

"You're all stressed in London, you slump on the train. As soon as you reach Brighton you start to relax and feel better.

"I'm tempted to move here myself but I'm getting married next May and I've got to sort that out first. But one of the next things we're planning to do is spend a weekend together here."

X-Leisure already manages 18 leisure complexes, 15 shopping centres and 16 retail parks across the UK, worth more than £500 million and attracting 45 million visitors a year.

Mr Gerbeau said: "As such a big leisure firm, we really wanted somewhere in Brighton so we are delighted.

"The marina is great already. But we need to link the retail, leisure and residential much more closely, so families will want to spend three to six hours, or the whole day, here.

"There are some quality bars and restaurants here but it's too seasonal. It's not sexy enough.

"You're not going to come down here in November."

He ruled out a repeat of X-Leisure's Milton Keynes "Snodome" and indoor ski slope.

But he suggested people should look out for mini-festivals, live performances and better children's play areas early next year.

There should also be regular appearances by a gleaming silver 7ft robot which greeted guests at an official presentation by Mr Gerbeau yesterday.

He said: "That robot can hardly walk around our Xscape destinations because it's always surrounded by about 400 children. Things like that help catch people's imagination.

"There will be something for the whole family.

"The lady might go shopping, the man can go for a drink in one of the bars and the kids can go play."

He indicated support for a high-speed transport link along the seafront, either improved buses or a monorail.

And he said X-Leisure would do something about the marina's ugly, awkward entrances he described as looking like "a bunker".

He said: "In the end I don't want people to think of Brighton Marina - it's part of Brighton.

"If you want a nice evening in town, you'd just as easily go to the marina, instead of thinking it's a 15-minute drive and giving up."

As well as families, he has already realised a group of people he needs to woo - the city's taxi drivers.

Mr Gerbeau said: "I talk a lot to taxi drivers and if they don't think your place is sexy as a destination, they'll close your business.

"I don't want to have people arriving in Brighton, tell their taxi driver to take them to the marina and hear: 'Oh no, mate, you don't want to go there - it's a nightmare to get into, for a start.'

"The last ten days I've been doing a lot of listening to people, which is what we'll carry on doing. This is about working in partnership with everyone here. There are always a few fingers in the pie but I want to make sure we're all talking as one hand for the marina, rather than four separate fingers."

Mr Gerbeau, a former international ice hockey player, is keen on proposals for a major concert venue and ice arena at neighbouring Black Rock.

But anyone expecting detailed plans for the marina will have to wait.

Parkridge has a 25 per cent stake in a joint venture with X-Leisure and will help see through longer-term plans.