QPR confirm Ecclestone in talks to sell the club

Warnock has had a frustrating summer in the transfer market (PA)

Queen's Park Rangers' owners are in talks over a potential sale, the Premier League club confirmed last night.

In March, club owner Bernie Ecclestone suggested that he might be interested in selling his 69 per cent stake for £100m – and the club entered into talks with an unnamed group, with due diligence taking place.

However, while those discussions failed to reach an agreement, QPR last night released a statement revealing the club had now started "preliminary discussions with a different party".

A third of QPR's stock is owned by the family of metals billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. In May, vice-chairman Amit Bhatia, Mittal's son-in-law, resigned from the board after a disagreement over ticket-price increases and changes to club management.

Vijay Mallya, the Force India Formula One team owner and chairman of United Breweries Group, which produces the Kingfisher beer brand, has previously been linked with the Loftus Road club.

The QPR manager, Neil Warnock, has endured a frustrating summer so far in the transfer market with his actions hampered by lack of funds.