MG Rover directors have offered the carmaker’s administrators assets worth £49m to try to keep the Longbridge firm in business.
The assets include Studley Castle, in Warwickshire, a conference centre, £1m in cash and £25m in “collateralised cash”.
The move was designed to give PwC time to try to revive a rescue deal for Rover with Shanghai Automotive Industries Corporation (SAIC).
Union officials said discussions with the Chinese were unlikely this week and it could take another fortnight and more money before they knew if a deal was possible. One official described a deal as “a million-to-one chance”. And SAIC also said it was highly unlikely to agree a rescue.
Meanwhile, the European Commission asked Britain to give it notice of a £6.5m loan to Rover, or any others that might be forthcoming “within 24 hours” because it needed to give approval under state aid rules. PwC said Rover was losing up to £25m a month.
The Daily Telegraph reports PwC said it would need £80m to cover Rover’s running costs and reach the point where it could be sold.
The Times names Nikolai Smolensky, owner of TVR, as an obvious candidate to buy MG, or a consortium of businessmen.
References: Financial Times 12/04/05 page 1, page 4, The Guardian 12/04/05 page 3, page 19, page 21 (Notebook), page 23, The Times 12/04/05 page 4, page 37 (Commentary), page 38 (Need to know), The Daily Telegrap
