Melbourne hospitality real estate specialist Conway Commercial is seeking interest from prospective lessees for the South Street hotel which is owned by Wagga businessman Greg Evans.

The 30-year lease is being offered for $350,000 with an advertisement saying the pub had a weekly turnover of $24,000, mainly from bar sales.

The potential for growth from the redevelopment of nearby former railway land is also highlighted with the advert stating “exciting opportunity with definite growth ahead, only 100 metres from major central business district development”.

Conway hotel broker Gary McRae said there had been “quite a bit of interest” in the hotel from parties in Melbourne and on the Border and surrounds.

He said although there had been negotiations he “wouldn’t like to guess at this stage” when a deal may be completed.

Mr Evans said he was continuing to directly run the Carriers as he awaited a new lessee.

The move to lease the hotel follows an auction last October when the pub was subject to a $1.2  million vendor’s bid before being passed in.

It was put on the market for $1.6 million but failed to attract a buyer, despite real estate agent Andrew Dixon saying at the time he was “hopeful of a purchase in the next week or two”.

Mr Evans said he was willing to be patient in securing a new lessee.

“Whenever the right deal comes, I will look at it but I’m not going to panic about it,” he said when asked when a deal may be finalised.

The previous licensees Michael and Cate Nightingale had the doors closed on them in March last year after the hotel’s debt exceeded $600,000.

Mr Evans said last May he had no regrets over the decision to evict the lessees, which resulted in protests from regular drinkers.

He said the hotel could have ended up in the hands of liquidators and closed for months had he not acted when he did.