Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie is said to be in the sights of several bidders, according to City sources.

The long-established Edinburgh-based firm could attract a price of £2.5billion and is believed to be attracting interest from private equity firms including The Carlyle Group, CVC and BC Partners.

The consultancy – also known as WoodMac – was launched as a stockbroker in 1844 and began researching energy markets with the North Sea oil boom in 1973.

It has been through various owners and is currently part of Verisk Analytics, a New York listed information company which bought it in 2015 for £1.85bn after it had been preparing for a stock market listing.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the proposed sale follows a campaign by American activist investor DE Shaw which has urged Verisk’s board to sell assets and focus more on insurance.