Beleaguered hotel group Queens Moat Houses (QMH) is understood to have appointed investment bank Morgan Stanley to find buyers for the 89-strong chain.
The company, which is currently suspended from the London Stock Exchange while it negotiates with its banks over a refinancing of its £640m debt, is expected to fetch up to £700m if it is sold.
No one from QMH would comment on the mooted sale, but sources close to the firm did confirm that "teasers" had been sent out to more than 50 companies over the past few weeks "to come to some sort of value for the business".
Private equity firms, property investment companies and hotel groups such as Hilton and InterContinental are all understood to have received the teasers and have been given a month to respond.
A disposal of the whole group, of any of its three divisions - UK, Dutch or German - or of any of its individual properties are being investigated.
A sell-off of all or any part of the company is one of several options QMH is considering in a bid to refinance its debt. The company launched a strategic review of its business in August last year, but was forced to asked for its shares to be suspended a month later because of delays in reaching an agreement with its lenders.