CBRE Hotels has been jointly appointed to steer the sale with Moore and Moore Real Estate, amid ongoing demand for regional hotel investment opportunities.

CBRE Hotels Director Ben McDonald noted that the Imperial Hotel offering had a slightly different angle, as freehold owner the Walker Douglas Group had teamed with the current tenant, Callen Hotels, to offer the freehold going concern for sale amid soaring demand for regional hotels displaying sound fundamentals.

Mr McDonald said he expected the asset to attract interest from a variety of operators, including a number who had recently joined the owners' list in the Newcastle/Lake Macquarie region and were looking to bolt on acquisitions to drive economies of scale in an area where the supply of quality hotel assets had diminished considerably.

"The recent recalibration of the cash rate by the Reserve Bank has fueled the hunt for high cashflow assets such as the Imperial Hotel that offer scope for further enhancement," Mr McDonald said.

The Imperial Hotel is situated on a 1,000sqm site and has the potential for further improvements with minimal financial outlay according to Moore and Moore principal Deane Moore.

"A recent cosmetic refurbishment of the ground floor, the ability to activate the 12 first floor accommodation rooms to drive profitability and the inclusion of a 3am hotel licence with 15 poker machine entitlements, will ensure that the Imperial Hotel is hotly contested," Mr Moore said.

The national Expressions of Interest campaign is scheduled to close at 12pm, Thursday 1st August 2019.