YORK’S former Lamb & Lion hotel has been placed on the market for £1 million, with potential buyers already showing an interest in the historic property.

The hotel in High Petergate shut down suddenly last month, causing the loss of 23 jobs and leaving some customers in the lurch.

The closure left bride-to-be Gemma Cox almost £1,000 out of pocket, with her plans for a hen party weekend in York with 17 friends later this month almost ruined.

Gemma, 27, from Bolton, who is getting married in July, paid £921 by debit card to put the entire party up at the hotel, but then discovered by chance when looking on the internet that it had shut down. She said she felt “sick to the bottom of her stomach” and burst into tears when she found out, as her friends had trusted her to sort out the accommodation.

Now receivers appointed by the Royal Bank of Scotland have arranged for the property to be sold by Storeys:ssp.

The firm says in its literature that buyers have an opportunity to purchase a “prominent and substantial property with 12 letting bedrooms, yielding high gross profit margins in comparison to wet and dry sales”.

It says the recently refurbished property has a large beer garden with views of the nearby minster, and is situated in a city which attracts more than four million visitors a year who spend more than £330 million.

“It comprises two Georgian townhouses – part two-storey and part four- storey – built into the medieval city walls, and was converted to provide a smart boutique hotel refurbished to a very good standard...

“Offers in excess of £1 million are required to include all owned fixtures, fittings and stock.”

A spokesman said there was already interest in the property from people wanting to reopen it as a hotel.

Meanwhile, Gemma said she and her hen party were still planning to come to York, having provisionally booked to stay in a different hotel at an additional cost of hundreds of pounds.

She said it was not clear at this stage whether she would receive back any of the original £921.