O2 restaurants sell for millions before even opening

The trio - Raan, America and Britain - which are adjacent to the 20,000-capacity concert venue in Greenwich have been snapped up by London-based American tycoon Frank Dowling.

Mr Dowling, who made his fortune in property before settling in Britain and buying a series of pubs and bars in south-east London, tabled a bid last week which was ratified today.

It is understood he has bought the restaurants for a seven-figure sum. The deal comes after a hugely successful first few months for the former Millennium Dome which is now being run by American entertainment group AEG.

A series of sell-out concerts featuring Prince, The Rolling Stones and Justin Timberlake has seen a huge turnaround in fortunes for the futuristic structure, which lay empty for years. With a number of big tours and sporting events in the pipeline, entrepreneurs have been keen to invest in the complex, which also contains a cinema, concert hall, nightclub and museum.

The three restaurants were devised by The Glorious Group - a partnership between London restaurateur Iqbal Wahhab and Indian tycoon Akbar Asif. The two businessmen were planning to open them fully to the public in the coming weeks, following a series of high profile launches.

Although the restaurants had not been fully opened, they had already played host to special guests including Kate Moss, Kevin Pieterson, Jon Bon Jovi and Emma Thompson, as management tweaked and refined the menus.

The restaurants are spread across two buildings flanking each side of the arena's main entrance.

It is thought that Mr Dowling, who already owns the Urban Inc bar and Inc Brasserie within the O2 complex, is keeping the brands as they are.

Mr Wahhab, who launched the Cinnamon Club in Westminster in 2001, told the Standard: "We had no plans to sell the restaurants but were made an offer that was too good to refuse.

"We will now take our ideas to other areas like New York and Dubai."