ONE of the south's most famous ferry and holiday firms is on course for a £250m sell-off, it emerged today.

Wightlink, which employs 600 people and is Britain's largest independent ferry operator, has appointed upmarket investment broker Goldman Sachs to advise on a potential disposal.

The firm runs cross-Solent services between Lymington and Yarmouth and Portsmouth and Fishbourne.

As reported by the Daily Echo earlier this month, Wightlink enjoyed a lucrative 2004.

It carried 5.7 million passengers and 1.2 million cars, generating a turnover of more than £50m.

Wightlink also boosted the balance sheet with special services from Lymington to Cowes during the Cowes Week sailing regatta in August and a catamaran service between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde.

Last year also saw a rise in custom on the back of the Isle of Wight music festival, with top billing from rock legend David Bowie.

The Daily Echo understands that Wightlink chief executive Mike Aiken would be in line for a multi-million pound windfall if the firm was bought up.

It was too early to say if there would be an impact on jobs if a sell-off was agreed. No timescale has yet been given on any potential deal, either.

Wightlink, based in Ports-mouth, was bought from Sea Containers by Cinven and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in 1995.

Reports emerged at the weekend that one possible bidder for the firm, whose shareholders include the RBS private-equity arm, is Macquarie, an Australian bank.

Both Wightlink and Goldman Sachs were unavailable for comment this morning.

Wightlink's Southampton-based rival, Red Funnel, was last year the subject of a £60m management buy-out of the share owned by venture capitalists JP Morgan Partners.