AN East Lancs brewery could be set to make a massive profit from the sale of one of its hotels.

Shire Hotels, which is a subsidiary of Daniel Thwaites, in Blackburn confirmed that there were several parties interested in buying The Stafford Hotel, Mayfair, London, which it has owned since 1994.

And reports in the city suggest that the swanky hotel could command a whopping £80m price tag.

The iconic Blackburn firm bought The Stafford for £16m back in the mid 1990s, a figure that now looks like a very shrewd investment.

Antony Spencer, who is managing director of Shire Hotels, said: “Daniel Thwaites have owned and operated The Stafford Hotel in London since 1995.

“As a five star hotel in a unique location we have received a number of approaches from interested parties over the years and have given each of them consideration.

“Savills have handled these on our behalf in the past and will continue to do so. There have been a number of recent expressions of interest, but no sale has been agreed.”

The Stafford was previously owned by the Trafalgar House constr-uction group, which also owned The Ritz at the time.

However, when Traf-algar House looked to sell some of its assets Shire Hotels stepped in and snapped up the glitzy property.

In 2005 it bought the building next door to the Stafford for around £10m and spent £12m adding 26 bedrooms.

Even with this recent investment Shire Hotels looks to be quids in.

Rooms at the Mayfair hotel start at £150 per night, all the way up to a staggering £1,425 per night for a main suite.

In recent years Shire Hotels has experienced success while Thwaites brewery profits have fallen.

Figures for the year ending March 31, 2008, revealed that the Blackburn brewer had seen its pre-tax profit drop from £12.7million in 2007 to £9.9million this year, 22 per cent down.

But the Shire Hotels chain produced a profit of £8.5million, which is up £700,000 on 2007.