The sell-off of Lehman Brothers assets is set to continue tomorrow when Le Méridien hotel on Piccadilly, in central London, is put up for sale with an estimated price tag of about £90 million.

Starman Hotels, a hotel investment joint venture between Lehman and Starwood Capital, will announce the appointment of Molinaro Koger, the advisory firm, to find a buyer for the grade II-listed leasehold property.

The 267-room hotel, whose freehold resides with the Crown Estate, is being sold subject to a management agreement with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the American operator of the Sheraton, Westin and Méridien brands.

Lehman’s involvement with the five-star hotel dates back to 2005, when the Méridien business was sold off in two chunks. The hotel management and franchising business was acquired by Starwood Hotels, while the owned and leased properties were sold to the newly formed Starman.

Eric Kudlak, Molinaro Koger’s managing director for Europe, said the sale of the Piccadilly hotel was unrelated to the collapse of Lehman, claiming that he had been discussing the move with Starman for 12 months.

He pointed out that Starman had been gradually selling off assets since well before Lehman’s woes came to light.

He admitted that the current economic climate was not the ideal time to be selling assets, but insisted: “Despite the financial uncertainty, there is a great interest in this property, which is a particularly coveted location.”

The Piccadilly hotel reported turnover of £23.7 million in 2007, generating a net operating income of £5.1 million. Its recent performance has seen occupancy hit 87 per cent, with an average room rate of £213.

Mr Kudlak said the hotel was in need of renovation, and there was significant potential to convert under-utilised meeting space into extra bedrooms.

The sale of the Méridien Piccadilly comes at a time when Royal Bank of Scotland is quietly sounding out potential purchasers of the nearby Grosvenor House, recently relaunched under the JW Marriott brand, with an estimated asking price of £600 million to £700 million.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax