Birmingham City Council says it has been inundated with enquiries and bids from investors following the decision to sell the NEC Group.

There has already been a stampede of applications and interest from potential buyers ahead of this week’s pre-qualification process deadline.

The group includes the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), International Convention Centre (ICC) and National Indoor Arena (NIA).

Birmingham City Council leader Sir Albert Bore said: “Interest in the sale has been high. We have quite a bit of work to do to go through them.”

Asked if it was likely to be sold overseas, the Labour leader stressed that it was a leasehold sale with conditions attached giving Birmingham City Council, as landlord, a say in future of business.

He said that the NIA and ICC in the city centre are likely to be sold on a 25-year lease and the NEC and LG Arena sites on a longer 50-year lease within which there would be caveats and conditions to ensure that Birmingham retains its exhibition and arena facilities.

With interest high it means that the city council is more likely to secure an investor with the resources to both take the NEC Group forward and secure a good price for the local authority.

Although the council and business have refused to name a price, there has been speculation that the council would be looking for upwards of £300 million.

With the deadline for submissions now passed, council officials are likely to spend the next few months assessing the bids before drawing up a shortlist in the summer.

Sir Albert was also looking to quash claims that he was forced into the sale by the refusal of Eric Pickles and the Department for Communities and Local Government to extend extra credit to Birmingham to cover the costs of its equal pay bill.

Instead Sir Albert insisted that he would have sold up anyway because the NEC Group is in need of major investment which the city council cannot fund in the age of austerity.

He said: “The NEC Group needs urgent investment to take it forwards. The ICC for example was opened in the 1991, before much of today’s digital technology existed. It is in need of considerable investment.

“We have just invested about £20 million in the National Indoor Arena, but we cannot do much more. If the NEC Group is to continue to grow and be successful it requires someone who can make that investment. Regardless of the equal pay issue, I would be looking to sell the NEC Group.”

Last year the council’s total equal pay bill reached £1.1 billion, with accounts revealing that £430 million has already been paid out, leaving £690 million to settle. But Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has only allowed the city council to borrow £530 million to cover those debts, leaving asset sales as the only realistic option to meet the shortfall without impacting on frontline services.

Thousands of mainly female workers have received, or are set to receive, payments worth anything up to £100,000 after successfully proving unfair discrimination. Cases arose because, under the Single Status act, jobs of equal value could be compared. Many women cleaners, cooks and carers were not given bonuses which were available in male dominated, roles such as binmen and road workers.

The NEC Group has also rapidly grown in recent years building on the base of four exhibition venues – the NEC, the LG Arena, the NIA and ICC – establishing a number of related businesses including The Ticket Factory ticket agency, Amadeus catering business and NEC Group International which manages other exhibition venues such as the Dublin Conference Centre.

Next year will see the opening of Resorts World Birmingham casino, conference centre and shopping complex, open on the NEC site following a £140 million investment.

The council has also retained claw-back rights over a parcel of land next to the NEC which it will exploit for development – hoping to capitalise on a HS2 station.