United Biscuits (UB) - maker of McVitie's biscuits, Twiglets, KP Nuts and Jaffa Cakes - faces a £2bn takeover by Chinese consumer group, Bright Food.

The Shanghai-based group, advised by Rothschild, is in advanced talks with UB, even as other major food brands including Kellogg, Kraft, PepsiCo, Nestlé and several Indian companies have reportedly expressed their interest.

"Bright Food is now in talks about buying United Biscuits," confirmed company spokesperson Chen Chunshan to Bloomberg.

United Biscuits which had been considering a partial sale of its biscuit operations to US food company Campbell Soup in August may now be bought over as a whole unit if the negotiations succeed.

The company has been under the private equity ownership of Blackstone and PAI since 2000. Its takeover by the Chinese group may lead to political outcry as concerns persist in the UK over the growing number of businesses being bought by foreign companies.

If Bright Food succeeds in striking a deal, it would be the first time an Asian company gains control of a major European food company.