A millionaire developer has bought a landmark former cinema for £2.2 million.

Businessman Mike Holland hopes to turn the Astoria in Brighton into a mix of offices, shops and flats.

The Grade II-listed building in Gloucester Place was at the heart of city life for decades but has been empty for ten years.

It was saved from demolition in 2000 but plans to reopen it as a cinema and concert venue were never followed through.

The previous owners, who were members of percussion group Stomp, made more than £1 million on the property after selling it to Mr Holland for £1.9 million plus VAT.

Mr Holland told The Argus his architects are talking to council planners to find the quickest way to bring the Astoria back into use.

He said: "It is such an eyesore.

"My interest is to get another ugly building looking decent."

He hopes to begin repainting the outside of the building within a month.

Mr Holland, 60, said the area, near London Road and the New England Quarter redevelopment, is an up-and-coming part of town.

He said: "I can't understand why someone hasn't done it before.

"It would get the area smartened up really quickly.

"I'd drive past it and think, why on Earth isn't something happening with that?"

The idea of converting the Astoria for other uses provoked a mixed reaction from councillors who had hoped to see the building used for the arts.

Keith Taylor, Green councillor for St Peter's and North Laine, said: "We're disappointed that the Stomp plans for the Astoria haven't materialised as we'd like to preserve some entertainment use for the site.

"However, it is early days and we look forward to helping the new owners of the site to bring the building back into use."

Conservative city councillor Averil Older has fond memories of watching epics like Ben Hur and Spartacus at the cinema in the 1960s.

She welcomed Mr Holland's purchase of the site.

She said: " I'm sure everyone would like to see the cinema restored.

"But to smarten the area up will be excellent.

"It is a prime site and has been an eyesore for too long.

"He seems to have quite a lot that he's willing to spend on things in the city.

"I wish him luck."

Colin Dibley, of the Astoria Moving Picture Trust, invited Mr Holland to contact him to learn more about the building's history.

He said: "I'm glad somebody else is taking it over.

"It's about time the Astoria came out of hibernation."

The building has been unused since 1997, since when it has had several false dawns as different plans have been tabled.

Schemes to make it into a bar, restore it as a cinema, and reopen it as a multimedia centre, have all fallen by the wayside.

Its most recent uses have been for illegal raves.

The building has gradually fallen into disrepair over the last ten years.

At the moment work is being carried out to check its structure is sound.

Mr Holland said the internal art deco features which are protected under the Astoria's listed status will be "quite easy to work around".

The Astoria is the latest Brighton and Hove landmark to be acquired by Mr Holland.

His company Cherrywood Investments spent £5 million renovating Stanmer House in Stanmer Park after leasing the property from Brighton and Hove City Council in 2002.

It turned the 18th Century stately home into a venue for conferences, weddings and civil partnerships.

It also houses Whoopsadaisy, Mr Holland's cerebral palsy charity, which had raised more than £70,000 by the end of 2006.

In April 2006 he and fellow parent John Summers spent £2.5 million to buy Newlands School in Seaford.

A planning application by one of Mr Holland's company's to build 54 flats on some school buildings caused controversy last month.

In May last year Mr Holland stepped in with a £3 million package to buy the British Engineerium museum in Hove.

Its collection of steam engines was due to be auctioned the same day.

The building is being refurbished and trustees hope it will reopen with an updated collection by summer 2008.

In September 2005 Mr Holland was awarded the Contribution to Life in Sussex prize at the Argus Achievement Awards.

Mr Holland, who lives in Withdean, sat on the panel which chose Conservative parliamentary candidates for Hove.

He was named Outstanding Brightonian of the Year at the Brighton and Hove Business Awards in September.

He is a director of 31 registered companies, 15 of which also involve his 38-year-old son Vince.

His businesses include property development and letting, hotels and he is the publisher behind Insight City News.

Mr Holland's firm Adelphi Hotels Ltd won Government contracts to provide homes for asylum-seekers in Birmingham, Manchester and Nelson.

Mr Holland leases the Caple Ne Ferne mansion in St Leonards to Scientology-based drug addiction centre Narconon.

In 2004 he backed plans for a £10m monorail to run from Brighton Marina to the Palace Pier, and he was part of a group which put forward an alternative plan for the King Alfred development in Hove in January this year.

ASTORIA - THE HISTORY * The Astoria opened in 1933 with a capacity of more than 1,800 and a Compton 3 theatre organ which rose from under the stage. It was owned by Associated British Cinemas, which also ran the ABC Cinema in East Street.

* After the cinema closed in 1977 the building became home to first a Coral, then a Gala bingo hall until 1997.

* Owner Bass was refused a drinks licence after it announced plans to turn the Astoria into an It's A Scream pub in 1998.

* The Astoria Moving Picture Trust sought Listed status for the Astoria to stop it being demolished to make way for new flats in 2000. The trust proved many of the original Thirties art deco features, including the proscenium arch and a frieze featuring nude Greek goddesses, were still intact.

* Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas of percussion group Stomp bought the Astoria with Loretta Sacco for £1m in 2001. They hoped to reopen it as a 2,000-capacity venue for concerts, caberet and film screenings. But last year The Argus reported the plans had stalled as projected costs reached £6 million.