A PRIME-SPOT restaurant in Southampton's busy waterfront has a new owner one of Britain's top chefs.

The news will further boost the reputation of the city as the culinary capital of the south coast.

Alex Aitken, who celebrity TV chef Gordon Ramsay rates as one of the best chefs around, has netted Latimers on the Quay.

The landmark property, which backs on to the city's historic Old Walls near Mayflower Park, has been bought freehold from locally based Topline Associates for an undisclosed sum.

Internationally acclaimed Aitken, 48, who operates the New Forest-based restaurant group Le Poussin with his wife Caroline, is to spend a six-figure sum breathing new life into the grade II listed buillding.

The restaurant, previously called Latimers on the Quay, is due to open by the end of the year following an extensive refurbishment that will have a New England maritime feel to it.

However, in a bid to capitalise on the tens of thousands of visitors coming to the Southampton Boat Show between September 15-24, Aitken is to open the ground-floor up for those ten days to sell seafood and champagne.

The father-of-two, who lives in Brockenhurst in the New Forest, said: "I will probably run it myself for that."

Aitken said of his acquisition: "We are really excited and we hope to be open by the end of the year."

Le Poussin Group currently has a £2m-plus turnover and directly employs 40-plus staff.

Aitken's original brasserie was Simply Poussin at Brockenhurst, which has just celebrated its 23rd anniversary, and the business has since acquired Le Poussin at Parkhill and the Whitley Ridge Hotel and Restaurant.

He estimates that a further 25 people will be needed for his latest establishment, with the ground floor devoted to seafood and the first to Le Poussin's signature dishes, such as salad of roasted quail.

The Whitley Ridge has just been awarded a coveted Michelin Star in the new 2006 Michelin Guide.

Even Gordon Ramsay has expressed his opinion on Le Poussin's inspired cuisine, saying: "Alex Aitken is the most amazing self-taught chef."

The property deal was carried out by the hotels and leisure arm of south coast property services giant Goadsby.

Mark Nurse of Goadsby said: "I am delighted to report this sale, as it will further enhance the reputation of the Southampton area as an important culinary centre.

"We had strong levels of buyer interest for the premises and, due to the important position of the restaurant opposite the De Vere Grand Hotel and close to the town centre and waterfront, I knew that we would attract a substantial purchaser."