De Savary hopes to snap up £16m home

The magnificent 18th century estate Luton Hoo, where the Queen and Prince Philip spent their wedding night and many anniversaries, could be transformed into a multi-million pound members' club.

Known around the world for its starring role in Four Weddings And A Funeral, the Bedfordshire stately home has caught the eye of property magnate Peter de Savary, who is negotiating to buy it for around £16million.

Luton Hoo has been on the market for nearly a year. If Mr de Savary's attempts to purchase it are successful, it will eventually become the latest in his portfolio of lavish members' clubs which include Skibo - the Scottish castle where Madonna married Guy Ritchie, and where Bill Clinton said he planned to write his memoirs.

At Skibo Mr de Savary's Carnegie Club guarantees exclusivity by charging around £3,000 for initial membership, with hundreds of pounds more for each day spent in residence.

Michael Douglas, Jack Nicholson and Sean Connery are members of the club, which father-of-five Mr de Savary - who once owned Land's End and John O'Groats - has said is for the "cash-rich and timepoor", adding: "But it doesn't matter how rich people are, they want good value for money."

His residential and sporting club business, Carnegie Clubs Group, has a new partner, John Broome, who founded Alton Towers and lost it when his Battersea Power Station venture collapsed in debt. Together they are understood to be interested in converting the historic property to create the Hoo Club.

While sources within the property industry say 57-year-old Mr de Savary has set his acquisitive eye firmly on Luton Hoo, the Carnegie Club Group would only confirm that the company had "evaluated" it.

Spokeswoman Mary Ann Lutyens said: "We have not made a final decision."

The Grade I listed house is set in 1,000 acres of parkland with a 50- acre lake, landscaped by Capability Brown. Its original owner was the 3rd Earl of Bute, prime minister to George III. The interior is largely the work of Sir Robert Adam.

The house features state and reception rooms on three floors including a 140ft-long former library, a striking entrance hall and a private chapel.

The estate also includes a Grade II* listed stable block, an entrance lodge, formal gardens and three main carriage drives.

At the end of the 19th century the estate was owned by Sir Julius Wernher who was reputed to have been one of the richest men in the world at that time, having amassed a vast fortune in the diamond fields of South Africa. The more recent history of Luton Hoo has included tragedy.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were frequent visitors as guests of former owner Nicholas Phillips, who was the Duke's godson. But in 1991, Mr Phillips committed suicide following a failed business venture. His widow, Lucy, later sold the house and some of the contents including unique masterpieces collected by Sir Julius Wernher. One sketch alone, Diana And Her Nymph by Rubens, fetched £3.08million, three times the auctioneers' estimate, while a London dealer paid £2.4million for a Titian portrait of the Genoese worthy Giacomo Doria.

In 1998 Luton Hoo was sold to the Sussex-based Elite Hotels group for a reported £8-10 million. Elite made a planning application to convert it into a 115-room hotel and leisure club.

Elite and its agents, Knight Frank, say the location "would satisfy an ever-growing demand for top-quality hotel accommodation outside London", especially as there is also potential for the construction of a golf course within the grounds.