THE trendy Oxford city centre club, The QI, is to be expanded following its sale to a hotel group.

The QI in Turl Street opened three years ago as a club for Oxford's "most interesting people".

The company behind it, QuiteInteresting Ltd, had strong links with the popular Stephen Fry television quiz show, QI.

But the club has been taken over by Curious Clubs Ltd, who are enlarging the premises after taking a lease on the neighbouring property, formerly a Millets store The five-storey QI building was originally the home of the Taj Mahal, one of the first Indian restaurants to open in Britain. With a bookshop on the ground floor and dining room, library and bars upstairs, the QI has attracted many celebrity visitors and guest speakers from the worlds of music and literature. John Lloyd, the founding managing director, is the television producer responsible for Blackadder and Spitting Image.

Curious Clubs Ltd has been created by the team who run Cowley Manor, a stylish contemporary country house hotel near Cheltenham, along with the legendary Parisian Left Bank hotel, L'Hotel.

A letter sent to members by the QI board says: "Over the past few months the QI team has worked with the Curious Clubs directors to construct a deal which would secure the club's future. The board has always believed this would require expansion of the club's physical space and the facilities it offers. This is now possible."

The new company's plans to expand the club were approved on Tuesday by the city council's central, south and west area committee.

Committee member Susanna Pressel said: "It is nice to have something other than university use for this building, particularly in this area of the city."

The club is now expected to change its name to the Curious Club, with existing staff to transfer to the new business.