Potential buyers for BAA’s Gatwick Airport are positioning themselves ahead of an anticipated £3 billion-plus auction for the transport hub.

Sources close to Dubai Aerospace, which has bid $1.8 billion ($900 million) for Auckland Airport in New Zealand, have revealed that the company would consider a bid if BAA made Gatwick available. Wilhelm Bender, chief executive of Fraport, which owns Frankfurt Airport, said yesterday that he, too, would be interested in buying one of BAA’s facilities.

Aviation sources have said that bankers in London are working on possible acquisition strategies for a number of clients. Analysts believe that these are likely to be financial buyers such as Macquarie Bank or private equity groups.

This positioning by potential buyers comes two weeks after the Competition Commission said that it was beginning an investigation into whether BAA’s monopoly of London airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – should be broken up.

Many of the submissions to the commission claimed that BAA’s control of these three strategic assets was stifling competition and investment at the airports. The commission’s investigation is likely to take another two years, but if it finds against BAA, the company could be forced to sell one of its airports.

Ferrovial, the Spanish construction company that bought BAA last year for £10.3 billion, is thought to want to sell some of its seven UK airports to pay down debt from the acquisition. It may decide to act before the commission forces its hand.

Robert Cullemore, a consultant with Aviation Economics in London, said: “If Ferrovial waits until the commission completes its inquiry, it could be in a situation where it is a forced seller. That will certainly be a concern for them because they will not want to get into a position of being forced to dispose of Gatwick or Stansted.”

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), which is state-owned, is rapidly expanding its aircraft maintenance and leasing business, but it also has its eyes on international airports. This month DAE bought Landmark, an American leasing company, for $1.9 billion, and it was part of a consortium that paid $1.6 billion for SR Technics, the Swiss aircraft maintenance company, last year. DAE owns Dubai International Airport and is trying to buy a controlling stake in Auckland Airport.

Mr Bender expressed an interest in BAA’s assets during a financial results conference yesterday. He said: “When things become concrete, we will look at it and show interest.”

Airports have become attractive because of the growth in demand for air travel and the difficulty in finding locations to build new facilities. Macquarie, the Australian bank, has stakes in airports including Bristol, Birmingham and Sydney. In June it sold its holding in Aeroporti di Roma for $1.6 billion. Other companies thought to be interested in BAA’s assets include Hochtief, the German group that owns six airports, and Albertis, a Spanish company with stakes in Luton, Cardiff and Belfast airports. AIG, which recently bought London City Airport for about £700 million, could also be a bidder.

BAA said it has no plans to sell an airport at this time.

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