Stelios and Branson team up for Gatwick bid

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Sources have also confirmed that bidders consider BAA's demand for up to £2.5 billion overblown and are demanding talks around the £1.5 billion mark.

Branson's Virgin and easyJet, 40% owned by Haji-Ioannou, are two of Gatwick's largest users. The two have been in talks to mount an offer for the airport which handles more than 30 million passengers a year.

It is understood Virgin and easyJet are interested in a structure similar to the ownership of the NATS air traffic control company in which seven airlines between them control around two-fifths of the shares.

Their plan for Gatwick is to attract a large financial institution or fund to be the majority controller.

Others who could join the consortium include Monarch, the scheduled holiday airline and the Thomsonfly charter company.

Gatwick is up for sale after a Competition Commission probe into BAA's dominance of the London airport market. It also owns Heathrow and Stansted.