CHARLES Dickens' least favourite Ipswich pub has been sold.The Great White Horse in Ipswich is to be sold by Regent Inns as part of a deal valued at nearly £28 million, it was revealed yesterday.

CHARLES Dickens' least favourite Ipswich pub has been sold.

The Great White Horse in Ipswich is to be sold by Regent Inns as part of a deal valued at nearly £28 million, it was revealed yesterday.

It is one of 20 "non-branded" properties being off-loaded by Regent as part of its plans to focus on the development of its Bar Risa/Jongleurs, Walkabout and Pals chains.

The purchaser is St Albans-based Wizard Inns, the fast-growing managed pubs group backed by investment bank Nomura and Royal Bank of Scotland, which currently owns 48 pubs across south England and the Midlands.

The Great White Horse, on the corner of Tavern Street and Northgate Street, is famed for its connection with Charles Dickens, although his description of the property was not exactly flattering.