Vodafone has discussed offering its struggling Turkish subsidiary in part-exchange for T-Mobile UK, which is expected to be sold later this year by Deutsche Telekom.

The German phone group is this weekend considering approaches from Vodafone, O2 and Orange, who are all keen to consolidate their position in Britain's highly-competitive mobile market.

Sources said there was “no rush” to decide the future of T-Mobile, the No4 operator with 14% of mobile revenues, which has appointed investment bank JP Morgan to consider its options.

Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao is keen to trade assets rather than spend heavily like his predecessors. The company paid £2.6 billion to enter Turkey in 2006 but has written down its investment after losing ground to the market leader. It could contribute up to half the value in a £3 billion deal for T-Mobile.

Elsewhere, Cable & Wireless has appointed Rothschild to sell the remainder of Thus, which it acquired a year ago for £360m. Included in the disposal, which could raise £75m, will be Demon, one of Britain's oldest internet service providers and Thus’s small and medium-sized client base.

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