Telewest is preparing to announce that Flextech is not for sale after all, according to reports.

The auction, which attracted bids from major commercial broadcasters in the UK and overseas, was suspected by many to be an elaborate evaluation exercise for the benefit of upcoming merger partner NTL.

The Observer claimed on Sunday that an additional reason for the backing down is a reluctance to sell to the highest bidder from the auction: BSkyB, who submitted an offer worth £1.2 billion.

Other £1 billion-plus bidders included RTL - owners of Five - and Discovery Communications.