A sale is now thought to be the most likely option for the Dawnay Shore, the operator of the Paramount hotel brand, after it received expressions of interest from a number of companies.

In November, the company appointed NM Rothschild to undertake a strategic review, exploring either the sale of the company as a whole or the transfer of its property assets into an REIT. 

According to the Daily Telegraph, first round offers for the business are due in within a week, and the paper cited the Thistles hotel chain, Richard Balfour-Lynn's Alternative Hotel Group, and private equity firms Permira, Starwood Capital and Dubai International Capital as those likely to be among the bidders. 

Offers are expected to be around the £550m to £600m mark. 

Dawnay Shore's portfolio consists of 20 four-star regional hotels in the UK, including the Lygon Arms Hotel in the Cotswolds and Edinburgh's Paramount Carlton. The company was established in 2004 by Dawnay, Day and Shore Capital.