Private equity funds including Apollo Management and Onex, a Canadian investor, are among the bidders that have tabled offers for Doncaster-based Keepmoat.

Following the merger of Keepmoat and rival Apollo in 2012, the firm employs more than 3,200 full-time staff across 22 regional offices.

The company is one of a string of house builders, which ended up in the control of Lloyds Banking Group, after it bought the assets of rival HBOS.

A spokeswoman for the housing firm told the Enquirer: “Keepmoat can confirm that it is at the early stages of assessing possible financial partners to provide further funding for the next stage of the development of the group.”

According to a report on Sky News, Keepmoat could by sold for up to £500m as interest in the housing sector forces up valuations.

The enlarged Keepmoat business completed its second financial at the end of March.

Revenues for the full year reached £925m, an increase of almost £40m on the previous year.

This has been driven by a strong performance in homes, where 1,853 properties were sold, a 23% increase on the prior year and the £198m Leeds PFI contract win.