Will Mr Desmond take over the Telegraph?

His parent company Northern and Shell has off-loaded the 45 titles for an estimated �20m, as the takeover battle for the Telegraph hots up.

Mr Desmond's sale comes as Hollinger International, owner of the Telegraph, is set to auction off the title.

The Express boss has long declared his wish to buy the popular broadsheet.

Mr Desmond's sale of the adult magazines is being seen as an attempt to boost his reputation and improve his chances of buying the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs.

Wider auction

The adult titles have been bought by Remnant Media, founded by chairman Simon Robinson and Aroon Maharajh.

Remnant said it was "delighted".

Hollinger International's auction of its newspaper portfolio, which in addition to the Telegraphs, includes the Spectator magazine, Chicago Sun-Times and Jerusalem Post, could raise as much as �600m.

The auction was made possible by a US court ruling last week that overturned the attempt of Hollinger International's former chairman Conrad Black to sell off the titles against the wishes of the company.

Lord Black had agreed a price of �260m with Channel Island-based media and property billionaires the Barclay twins.

It is still not yet known whether they will continue in the takeover race now it has been extended to a wider auction.

The Daily Mail and Trust, owner of the Daily Mail newspaper, and a number of financial institutions are also said to be interested in buying the Hollinger titles.