The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) intends to sell its 24 per cent stake in the UK's fifth largest airport, but only if there is "quality" to the offers received.

The authority has already disposed of a 3 per cent stake in Hamburg but denies that the sales are part of an overall disposal of its overseas assets. The Birmingham stake could raise €160 million.

The stake will be sold in conjunction with a similarly sized stake owned by Australian investment bank Macquarie, which owns several airport assets.

Birmingham is a growing airport and is one of the biggest in the UK outside London. In the 12 months ended March 31st, 2006 it handled 9.5 million passengers, about half of the number going through at Dublin Airport.

The DAA and Macquarie intend to proceed by "way of a joint sale process", a statement said yesterday. There are likely to be several interested buyers with airports viewed as attractive assets by infrastructure funds and private equity houses.

The DAA statement said: "Any decision to proceed with a divestment of their combined interest will be dependent upon the quality of the offers that might be received." The rest of the airport is owned by seven west midlands' district councils, with a 2.75 per cent stake owned by airport employees.

Macquarie is keen to concentrate mainly on larger airports and it has stakes in Sydney, Rome, Brussels and Copenhagen.

European airports are attracting hefty valuations, mainly based on traffic forecasts for the EU, most of which predict passenger numbers to double to two billion by 2020.

Last year Spain's Ferrovial bought the UK's British Airports Authority, which owns Heathrow Airport, for €15.1 billion. Closer to home Dermot Desmond was the main beneficiary from the sale of London City Airport for €1.1 billion to AIG, Credit Suisse and GE Capital. Mr Desmond is believed to have bought his original stake for £14.5 million sterling.