Let L denote a right-invariant sub-Laplacian on an exponential, hence solvable Lie group G, endowed with a left-invariant Haar measure. Depending on the structure of G, and possibly also that of L, L may admit differentiable L p -functional calculi, or may be of holomorphic L p -type for a given p = 2. 'Holomorphic L p -type' means that every L p -spectral multiplier for L is necessarily holomorphic in a complex neighbourhood of some non-isolated point of the L 2 -spectrum of L. This can in fact only arise if the group algebra L 1 (G) is non-symmetric.Assume that p = 2. For a point in the dual g * of the Lie algebra g of G, denote by Ω( ) = Ad * (G) the corresponding coadjoint orbit. It is proved that every sub-Laplacian on G is of holomorphic L p -type, provided that there exists a point ∈ g * satisfying Boidol's condition (which is equivalent to the non-symmetry of L 1 (G)), such that the restriction of Ω( ) to the nilradical of g is closed. This work improves on results in previous work by Christ and Müller and Ludwig and Müller in twofold ways: on the one hand, no restriction is imposed on the structure of the exponential group G, and on the other hand, for the case p > 1, the conditions need to hold for a single coadjoint orbit only, and not for an open set of orbits.It seems likely that the condition that the restriction of Ω( ) to the nilradical of g is closed could be replaced by the weaker condition that the orbit Ω( ) itself is closed. This would then prove one implication of a conjecture by Ludwig and Müller, according to which there exists a sub-Laplacian of holomorphic L 1 (or, more generally, L p ) type on G if and only if there exists a point ∈ g * whose orbit is closed and which satisfies Boidol's condition.