Medical charity bids for the Dome

The Dome closed its doors at New Year

One of the world's leading medical charities is in negotiations with the government to buy the Millennium Dome and transform it into a biomedical research centre.

The Wellcome Trust, which has assets of nearly £15bn, wants to take over the site in Greenwich and turn it into laboratories to research the combating of diseases.

In a statement the Trust refused to confirm the reports but said its investment portfolio was constantly under review and several opportunities might be under consideration at any one time.

Pierre-Yves Gerbeau wanted to take over the Dome

The government has said it is considering offers from a number of prospective buyers and no final decisions have been made.

The Trust said any negotiations about property were conducted in the strictest confidence and no details would be provided.

The bidding process for the Dome was reopened in February after the government removed preferred bidder status from the company Legacy, which wants to turn the Dome into a hi-tech business park.

Former Dome chief executive Pierre-Yves Gerbeau joined forces with nightclub owners Ministry of Sound to put in a bid to keep the site running as a visitor attraction.

He wanted to retain the Dome as an entertainment centre during the day and a venue for night-time sporting and concert events.

Boxing

His plans included inviting stars like Madonna, Michael Jackson and Sir Paul McCartney to perform. There was talk of hosting a bout involving world heavyweight boxing champion Lennox Lewis.

But Mr Gerbeau was forced to abandoned the plans in March because of time and money constraints.

The government regeneration agency English Partnerships, which owns the Dome site, has said it has received more than 100 expressions of interest in the site.

The Dome closed it doors to the public on New Year's Eve.

Over the year that the attraction was open, it received only a little over half the predicted 12 million visitors.