A consortium led by Partners Group, a Swiss-based private equity firm, in partnership with Strathclyde Pension Fund and Zurich airport, is bidding for the Glasgow airport, according to sources.

Spain's Ferrovial is also seeking to buy Glasgow, as well as Aberdeen and Southampton airports from Heathrow Airport Holdings, in which it is also the largest shareholder, with a 25 % stake. According to sources, Ferrovial could be offering £800 million for the three airports.

The bid price of the Partners Group consortium wasn't disclosed. However sources said the price could be in the 15 times EBITDA range, bringing the value to £480 million. The potential purchase by Partners Group would be the private equity company's first move into airports.

Strathclyde is the independently run pension fund of Glasgow City Council and manages money for Renfrewshire council. Therefore, the consortium has the backing of both councils.

The airport saw 7.4 million passengers in 2013, its busiest year since the crisis.

Glasgow Prestwick airport also recently changed hands, passing from New Zealand infrastructure owners Infratil to the Scottish government for the sum of £1 million. Traffic in Glasgow Prestwick Airport decreased from 3 million passenger a year in 2007 to 1.5 million passengers a year according to Infratil's website.

Last week, Swiss investor Partners Group bought a majority stake in Mexican gas transportation business Fermaca valued at approximately US$750 million.