London City's interest in Southend wanes

London City airport has cooled its interest in the £100m auction of nearby Southend airport, as it turns its attention to the imminent sale of Gatwick.

A source close to City owners AIG, the insurance giant, and Global Infrastructure Partners, a joint venture between Credit Suisse and GE Infrastructure, said: "There's bigger fish to fry. We've not pulled out, but we're not progressing work.

"With the problems in the debt market, [Southend owner] Regional Airports missed the boat and should have sold it a year sooner."

The move is a huge blow to the Southend sale, as London City was thought to be the hot favourite. There are believed to be up to three more parties competing in an auction that has lasted more than seven months.

BAA has hired HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland to handle the sale of Gatwick, which is expected to fetch between £3bn and £5bn.