A prominent Kent entrepreneur is seeking to sell the last of his chain of seafood restaurants as he winds down his business empire.

Turrloo Parrett ultimately ran three seafront restaurants under the Hythe Bay brand, starting with the first venue in Hythe and later expanding to Deal and Dover.

The Hythe and Deal businesses were offloaded during lockdown, and now the third, rebranded as the Dover Patrol, has hit the market with an asking price of £160,000.

Mr Parrett, who also owns the Eastwell Manor hotel and spa in Ashford, says he is in no hurry to sell but the time is right to slow down after 72 years in the cut and thrust of the business world.

"At 88 it is probably about time," he said.

"Retirement to me means a bit more time to look after my stock exchange investments and worry about the odd race horse, so I shall find plenty to do."

Eastwell Manor, which Mr Parrett has owned since 1995, has been run by the spa firm Champneys since a deal struck in 2016 which saw him take a step back from day-to-day running of the business.

Mr Parrett and his late wife, Jackie Parrett, together transformed the 3,000 acre estate in Boughton Aluph into one of Kent's top hotels and wedding venues.

Reflecting on the decision to put the Dover Patrol restaurant on the market, he said: "I'm a mature age and running a good quality restaurant is for a younger person, frankly.

"It's a lovely location, probably one of the best locations in Kent I would have said.

"I have owned and run it for 11 years, but I've got minimal eyesight now and I'm at the grand old age of 88.

"I'm still going strong. It's just I'm a bit limited in what I can do, but I still have plenty on. After 72 years without a break I'm probably entitled to a short break."

Mr Parrett will be retaining a number of business interests in property nationwide, and also says he will have a chance to focus more on race horses.

Looking back on the expansion of his Hythe Bay brand, he admitted it was perhaps a mistake to take the name of one fishing town into others further up the coast.

The Hythe Bay restaurant in Deal was, similarly to the Dover branch, renamed to give it a more local feel, becoming The Quarterdeck.

But even a name change could not help it survive, and the Deal restaurant closed in 2020.

"It was probably a misjudgement on my part," he said.

"I shouldn't have called it Hythe Bay in Deal because they have some very good fisherman."

The Hythe Bay in Hythe was sold in the autumn of 2020 to barrister Annie Johnston and her partner Tony, and is now called The Waterfront.

On its website, it says of the couple: "On learning from the previous owner that he was selling the business, they offered to buy it on the spot."