The Financial Times (FT) said one-time Mirror Group chief executive David Montgomery may make a bid for the Telegraph Media Group should its current owners, the Barclay brothers, offload the titles, as recent media reports have suggested.

In August it was reported that Montgomery was preparing to take over JPI as the first step in a buy-and-build acquisition spree via his new investment company National World, which joined the London Stock Exchange last month through the listing of £5m-worth of shares.

Discussing a potential TMG bid, he told the FT “of course we are interested”, but added it was “far too early to make an estimate on what the offer might be”.

TMG declined to comment when approached by the FT, which also reiterated that Reach continues to be the frontrunner for most of the circa-200 regional titles owned by JPI, including The Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post, but excluding its national daily i newspaper.

Reach had been first to confirm that it was in discussions to acquire “certain of JPI Media’s assets”, shortly after it was revealed in July that the publisher was in talks to sell them.

Other names that are said to have been mulling bids for JPI’s assets have included Newsquest, Archant and Belgian media group Mediahuis, which acquired Irish publisher Independent News & Media in April.