A self-made millionaire dubbed the Lion Man is selling three of Brighton and Hove's most distinctive pubs for £800,000.
Flamboyant publican Dave Day is a well-known figure in the city and owns the Golden Lion Group.
Leases have been put up for sale for the Golden Lion Tavern in Manchester Street, Kemp Town, Brighton; the Ship Hotel in Hove Street, Hove; and Leo's Lounge in The Lanes, Brighton.
Together, the three pubs have an annual turnover of £1.2 million. Mr Day, 54, who is called the Lion Man because of his long darkish-blond hair, can often be seen being chauffeured around in a Jaguar with the personalised number plate LION DD.
He has built a chain of 11 successful pubs, ten of which are in Brighton and Hove.
They are each fitted out with bright, loud decor and many have a lion theme.
The sale of the three pubs follow last summer's opening of Golden Lion's Ebony Room at Brighton Marina, a sumptuously-furnished bar, which cost £700,000 to fit out.
But the company insists the sale is nothing to do with the new bar, which is run by a separate company.
The sale is part of a "refocusing" of the pub chain and could even lead to bars opening in other areas of the city.
Tuesday February 10, 2004
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