Defunct carrier Monarch Airlines is seeking to appeal a High Court decision to strip it of the lucrative airport slots its administrators were hoping to sell for tens of millions of pounds.

The High Court's Lord Justice Gross and Mr Justice Lewis rejected Monarch's claim that it had the right to resell its slots, ruling instead that Airport Coordination Limited, which oversees the reallocation of airport berths, could offer them to new bidders.

The judges said that ACL was under no obligation "to allocate summer 2018 slots to Monarch by reason of historical precedence (grandfather rights)”.

The decision is a blow for the airline's former owner Greybull Capital, which would have been in line to receive some of the proceeds from take-off and landing slot sales at various airports, most notably those at Gatwick, which have been valued at up to £60m.

Monarch's slots at Manchester airport are set to go into a pool for rival airlines to bid for in the coming week.

However the airline's lawyers managed to argue for a stay on a decision about its slots at Gatwick and Luton airports.

This means Monarch’s administrators KPMG have until November 17 to seek permission to appeal.

Blair Nimmo, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: "We are disappointed with today's ruling and will be seeking leave to appeal as a matter of urgency."