Exchange & Mart and Auto Exchange, two of the best-known magazines for the second-hand goods market, especially cars, will shortly be in the hands of new owners after United Business Media put both titles up for sale in an action that could be worth as much as £100 million.

UBM said it had decided to sell the two highly profitable magazines after a review concluded that they would be "more valuable to other organisations". UBM said it had already received approaches for the magazines and has hired investment bank Merrill Lynch to manage the sale.

The review of the titles' future followed a reorganisation in May that saw David Levin take over as the group chief executive and Bernard Gray take control of United Advertising Publications, the division that houses the magazines.

Mr Gray is also chief executive of CMP Information, the classifieds division that publishes Daltons Weekly, Trade-It and the recently acquired Publican.

Between them, Exchange & Mart and Auto Exchange generated £35.8 million of revenue last year. Online page impressions on the Exchange & Mart website averaged more than 5 million a month. The previous year, Auto Exchange held a 70 per cent share of the free to pick-up magazine market and increased advertising sales by 7 per cent.

Mr Gray said: "Exchange & Mart is a particularly strong brand, but one which we believe other organisations are better placed to develop, particularly around the automotive classified sector. We have been approached with regard to these titles, indicating that there is already an encouraging level of interest."

Mr Gray added that plans to fold other UAP titles into the information unit are under way.

UBM said it would reinvest the proceeds from the sale in its core businesses. The group did not name any of the parties involved in the approaches to buy the two magazines. However, the sale could attract interest from both trade and private equity bidders.

Exchange & Mart, which was started in 1868 in a converted potato warehouse in London's Strand, sells almost 90,000 copies a week. Formerly the bible for buyers and sellers of second-hand cars, readers can trade just about any item, from household goods to holiday homes.

Auto Exchange is published free every Friday and is distributed through supermarkets and petrol stations. It also publishes separate regional editions.

UBM shares were up 1p at 496p in early afternoon trading.

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