Fears that jobs could be shed by the biggest private employer in Sutton have been stoked after Reed Business Information (RBI) was put up for sale.

More than 1,000 staff in the town centre face an uncertain future as buyers are sought for the £1billion trade magazine empire which includes New Scientist and Farmers Weekly.

The Reed Elsevier publishing group is hoping to capitalise on the biggest profits in a decade and concentrate on faster-growing online and subscription businesses.

Analysts claim the restructuring could claim several hundred jobs across the group over the next two years. The impact on RBI headquarters at Quadrant House, next to Sutton station, will be unclear until a sale is agreed.

Graham Willins, the business support manager for Sutton Council, said: "An announcement like this always creates a certain amount of uncertainty.

"But it would be pure speculation to say what this will mean for Sutton. RBI could basically operate as it has, but under a separate owner. Or it could be changed a lot.

"Restructuring may provide an opportunity: the new owners could decide to move more operations into Sutton, attracting other businesses. We will keep a watching brief but it is likely to be months before we know what is happening."

RBI, the largest publisher of business-to-business magazines in Europe with 800,000 subscribers, recorded operating profits of £119million last year on £906million sales.

Sir Crispin Davis, chief executive of Reed, said: "RBI is a well-managed, high-quality business, as evidenced by the success of its online growth and the control of costs."

Employees in Sutton are allocated two volunteering days to support local charities. Previously they have raised funds for the Vine furniture project, planted daffodils and cleared litter.

Likely bidders for the publishing wing are said to include Apax Partners, United Business Media and the Dutch publisher VNU.