THE new owner of Bournemouth’s popular Flirt cafe bar says his policy will be: “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”

Shaan Hussein says he will aim to keep the quirky character the venue was given by founders Rob Hazell and Peter Moody.

The pair, who also founded the Shakeaway chain and the cafe bar Legend, decided to sell the venue at the Triangle and leave the cafe business.

Mr Hussein said one of Flirt's main strengths was “the personality that Peter and Rob left behind”.

“They’re very colourful personalities and the people that work here reflect that very well,” he said.

Mr Hussein revealed that the venue’s next manager will be the former landlady of the nearby Winchester pub, which closed earlier this year.

Louise Keeley, who petitioned to keep the pub open, will take over when Flirt’s current manager Lukas Sembera leaves in August to move to London.

Originally from Manchester, Mr Hussein has spent 20 years as an investment banker and currently spends weekdays in Sweden.

The father-of-two got into the hospitality trade last year when he bought the Time Cafebars in Mansfield and Sheffield.

But he said he had tried to change his other venues too quickly and would be slower to introduce new initiatives at Flirt, consulting customers along the way. “It’s an opportunity for the customers to get to know me and for me to get to know them,” he said.

He hopes to build on Flirt’s programme of events, with ideas such as a Spanish night, speed dating and a silent disco.

But he added: “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That should be my attitude.”

He was introduced to Flirt by an agent and was impressed by the venue and its team of “Flirters”, who number 15-20.

“The first thing I noticed was how happy the staff were. They were having fun and still working,” he said.

“I was here at the Bourne Free weekend. The queue was out the door, all day and all night. These guys didn’t seem stressed at all. They make difficult things look easy.”

He said he had worked with the founders, especially Peter Moody, when the business was handed over.

“The more you get to know Peter the more you learn his way of doing business, his personality. I look at him as a godfather in terms of his experience. I have that level of respect for him,” he said.

“He’s made the transition so smooth.”