Melrose Plc, the AIM-listed engineering company, has put its aerospace division up for sale.

The company has appointed NM Rothschild to advise on the sale, and is thought to be looking for around £400m for the business, which it acquired from Cinven in 2005 as part of McKechnie and Dyncast for £429m.

The aerospace unit is the largest within the McKechnie division, and supplies safety critical aerospace components to clients such as Airbus. Turnover for the six months to 30 June 2006 was £69.1m, and a £400m sale would represent around 11 times projected operating profits for 2007.

Potential buyers for the business include private equity groups and investors from the Middle East.