Nokia to offload luxury Vertu brand?

Nokia is allegedly planning to offload its luxury Vertu brand.

The Finnish phone-maker has reportedly enlisted the help of Goldman Sachs to oversee the sale of the subsidiary, ZDNet reports.

Vertu was founded in 1998 to cater for the niche luxury market. Its handsets are made from expensive materials and come with the Vertu Concierge service built-in, granting customers one-touch access to taxis, hotels and restaurant reservations.

The company's annual revenue exceeds $200 million (£128m), but Nokia is yet to announce an official valuation. Reasons for its plans to sell have not been disclosed.

Nokia reported heavy third quarter losses back in October, one month after revealing plans to cut 3,500 jobs and shut down a plant in Romania as part of a restructure.

The firm released the Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone last month.