It's what estate agents might refer to as a decent sized fixer-upper, complete with 20 bedrooms, its own chapel, orchard and cottages.

But potential buyers beware – this house comes with an asking price of £2.5m and needs another £500,000 or so to transform it into a family home.

An order of nuns hopes to make money through the sale of Rempstone Hall – the sprawling stately home that has served as its convent for three decades.

The Anglican Benedictine sisters of Holy Cross Convent have decided the time has come to downsize from their 22-acre estate in the countryside near Loughborough.

They bought the 18th century mansion for £110,000 in 1979 and stand to make a massive profit from the sale.

When they moved into the Grade II-listed hall, there were 20 nuns – now only nine remain. They now want to pay for a move into a purpose-built, single-storey property being built three miles away in Costock – more suitable to the nuns, the oldest of whom is 79.

Reverend Mother Mary Luke, who is in charge of the convent, said: "It will be a bit of a wrench leaving Rempstone Hall because it is the most wonderful building and it has served us very well.

"It is truly idyllic and the south side of the building would make a lovely home for a large family, while planners have told us that they would not be against the idea of the other parts of it becoming offices. or having a commercial use. There is also scope for some development in the grounds.

"The hall was not built as a convent. It was built as a large private residence and we will be moving to a new home which we hope will be ready by May next year.

"The hall is a bit scattered for our purposes. The nuns rooms are here, there and everywhere.

"The sisters' rooms are not as separate as we would like from the areas used by our many visitors. We also do not have a sacristy."

The Reverend Mother said she was optimistic of a sale, despite the sluggish property market.

She said: "People who have millions are still able to afford property and we have a very nice one."

Should a wealthy investor, footballer or soap star swoop before their new convent is ready, the sisters say they could still move quickly.

"Ideally, we would find a buyer who would let us stay on at a peppercorn rent for a while, but I have contingencies which involve getting the builders to finish the accommodation at the new place first and putting a lot of stuff in storage," said the Reverend Mother.

The hall comes with two lodges in the Arts and Crafts style, a stable courtyard and pavilion-type house divided into flats.

Richard Brooks, a partner at Market Harborough estate agents Strutt and Parker, said: "It is a very unusual property and the nuns have done a very good job with it. They have done a lot of restoration on the roof and internally."