A strip club which was refused a new licence because its strippers touched and fondled customers may be sold.
The future of Angels, in New Park Street, off Braunstone Gate, remains in doubt after Leicester City Council declined to grant it a sexual entertainment licence.
The club's owners have lodged an appeal against the council's decision.
The matter went to Leicester Magistrates' Court on Friday for an initial hearing, where it was decided the full case would be heard in July.
The club can continue to operate until the legal matters are concluded but owner KN Leisure Ltd has suggested it may off-load it.
A council spokesman said: "Friday's hearing was held to set a date for the club's appeal, which is due to take place in July. In the meantime, the club can continue to operate.
"During the hearing, the owners' legal representatives said they'd been contacted by a firm which had expressed an interest in taking over ownership of the club.
"Any application to take over the club would have to be considered in the usual way by the city council's licensing department and at this stage doesn't affect the current legal proceedings."
Councillors refused Angels' licence in January after viewing CCTV footage obtained by police during a raid on the club last year.
Officers and council officials searched the venue and took a hard drive with CCTV recordings.
Council licensing manager Bobby Smiljanic said: "I was shown CCTV by the police which showed performers and members of the public clearly touching and fondling in an intimate and sexual manner."
Council rules – for all strip clubs in the city – forbid any physical contact between the strippers and the customers.
Mrs Smiljanic said the footage also showed strippers straddling customers – another disallowed practice.
The club was also found to have breached a condition to carry out identity checks on its strippers to ensure they were legally entitled to work and aged 18 or over.
The hearing was told the council carried out an inspection at Angels on October 9.
There were 19 performers working at the time, but the club management was unable to provide documentation.
Documents for 10 of the 19 were later e-mailed to the council, but no information has been provided for the other nine.
The council further decided Angels had breached a condition requiring it to hold 28 days of CCTV recording.
The police found only 18 days on a hard drive.
