IT is one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's most famous creations and attracts at least 150,000 visitors to Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.

Now the future of the Willow Tea Rooms, based in a Grade-A listed building, may be in doubt unless a bid to buy the premises is successful.

Anne Mulhern, who has run them since 1983, is facing a crisis as her landlord closes down and the building itself, which opened as tea rooms in 1904, is badly in need of urgent repair.

The tea rooms are a sub-tenant of a branch of Henderson jewellers, which is shutting.

Ms Mulhern is now hoping to secure a short-term lease of the building so that the tea rooms, first opened at 217 Sauchiehall Street by Mackintosh's patron Kate Cranston, can continue.

If the lease arrangement cannot be secured, the premises will close at the end of May.

Ms Mulhern believes only an outright purchase of the site can bring about the relevant repairs. She fears the effects of the weather on the building, which is not fully wind and watertight.

The renovations and repairs would cost £450,000, and combined with buying the building itself, Ms Mulhern in total needs to raise about £700,000.

Council officials will meet Ms Mulhern next week to discuss the future of the building, whose interior and asymmetric facade were designed by perhaps Scotland's most famous architect and artist.

Currently the building is owned by a pension fund but its potential sale is being handled by Lloyds Bank.

Ms Mulhern said: "The bank has an asset manager and we are talking to them.

"We have just said that any help that people can give us would be appreciated – and it doesn't even need to be money, it can just be help.

"We just want to get a fair price for them and also for us so I can start restoring the building.

"We are looking at around £700,000, including the renovations, which is horrifying in the current climate."

She added: "It's a crisis, and for me, I have tried to build this business for 30 years and I still have the fight in me to do this."

If the tea rooms close, 25 people will lose their jobs and 30 continuous years of tea room history at the address would come to an end.

Ms Mulhern already has planning permission to turn the ground floor, currently the jewellers, into a tea room and retail area.

In a letter to MSPs, Ms Mulhern says: "I have every intention of keeping open The Willow Tea Rooms. I am determined to preserve this important part of Glasgow's culture and history, and a 'must-see' venue for thousands of visitors to the city every year, as well as a popular attraction for many local people.

"However ... I now face some difficult challenges."

Local councillor Nina Baker said: "I hesitate to use that grossly over-exercised adjective 'iconic' but this is one of the very few buildings in the city to which it should genuinely be applied.

"We simply cannot stand by and let it deteriorate.

"The building and the tearoom itself are both key features in how we promote our lovely city to visitors.

"I would think it is one of those images that comes unbidden into mind when thinking of our architectural heritage. Which is why I am working with council experts to support the Tea Rooms and the whole building."

The Willow Tea Rooms opened in November 1904 with the Room de Luxe as its main attraction, featuring silver furniture and leaded mirror friezes, with Mackintosh having complete control over every design in the property, including the cutlery and waitress dresses.

Bailie Liz Cameron, executive member for jobs and the economy at Glasgow City Council, said: "I am keenly aware of the importance of our built heritage and the pride we have in our great architects including, of course, Mackintosh.

"As we do not own the property, there is a limit on what we can do, especially in the challenging financial climate. However, we will offer what support or advice that we can."