The private equity owners of United Biscuits have hired JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to run a £2bn ($3bn) auction for United Biscuits that is expected to attract some of the world’s biggest food groups.

UB, which has revenues of £1.3bn and net debt of £1.2bn, has continued to expand in spite of the UK recession, increasing operating profits to £223.4m last year.

Owners of UB are considering splitting the business into two parts – snacks and biscuits – to make it more palatable for potential bidders.

People familiar with the situation said the private equity groups had identified several likely trade buyers for UB, including some fast-growing Indian and Chinese groups that may be looking to buy a stable of global brands. Touted trade buyers include Kellogg, Kraft, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Campbell, which owns the Arnott’s biscuits business in the US. Further afield, there may be interest from Britannia in India, Ulker in Turkey and Meiji in Japan.

Last week several Turkish newspapers headlined that Ulker will buy UB referring to Financial Times news, Yildiz Holding, owner of Ulker and Godiva made no comment for these news. Yildiz Holding had acquired Godiva from Campbells and considers to be an international player in confectionery.