Aug 8 (Reuters) - London-based private equity firm 3i Group Plc had hired U.S. bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc to run a potential sale of British luxury lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing a source.

The Wall Street bank would soon let potential suitors conduct due diligence, the daily quoted the person briefed on the matter as saying. (http://nyti.ms/1shtKZ4)

In July, British media outlets had reported that 3i Group was exploring a sale of the retailer, for which the firm could fetch about 200 million pounds ($337 million), including debt.

3i Group and Goldman Sachs could not immediately be reached for a comment outside of regular business hours. ($1 = 0.5942 British Pounds) (Reporting by Esha Vaish in Bangalore; Editing by David Gregorio)