There are suitors aplenty for Financial Times, if the parent company bites: Terry Smith, head of UK moneybroking giant Collins Stewart Tullett, would be interested in spearheading a buyout of the FT if it was put up for sale by parent Pearson.

Pearson insists FT is not for sale, but there is growing speculation that the group could dispose of the paper in the medium term. Research published by Morgan Stanley says the paper could fetch about $1.2 billion and values its website, FT.com, at about $355 million.

BrandRepublic: In related news, Rob Minto is to take up the new role of interactive web editor at the Financial Times, to develop the newspaper’s online services, including blogs and podcasts.