BAA has accepted to delegate auditors to supervise the disposal of its London Gatwick airport, who would have the responsibility to report to the competition watchdog regarding the transparency and fairness of the process.

Following a discussion with the Competition Commission, the firm has commissioned Grant Thornton as shadow monitoring trustee in an attempt to rule out concerns among potential bidders and airlines operating at Gatwick regarding the proceeding of the entire deal.

It is said the final binding bids could be demanded by late March. However, the timing is still open.

The Competition Commission has been investigating BAA, which has raised its concerns regarding the group"s ownership of the three leading London airports - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - and two Scottish airports - Glasgow and Edinburgh - stating that the resulting monopoly is harmful to competition.

While suggesting the possible remedy, the watchdog said the commission could issue a ruling directing the sale of both Gatwick and Stansted and one of Edinburgh or Glasgow. With the final report is due to be released in late February or early March, the Commission is likely to confirm what moves it would decide during December.

In September, BAA announced its decision to pre-empt the outcome of the investigation by initiating the Gatwick sale process on its own.

Potential bidders for the deal include consortiums led by Manchester Airport Group, a group of Canadian pension funds, Global Infrastructure Partners, Citigroup and Hochtief. All these bidders are backed by a number of financial partners. Industry experts have estimated the Gatwick deal could be worth about £2bn.