Rover: Moulton unlikely to buy remains

JON Moulton, the venture capitalist who lost out to the Towers consortium in the bidding for MG Rover five years ago, said today there was only a 'slim chance' he would buy any of the business.

The Alchemy Partners boss, whose original plan was to invest in the MG sports car business and close the mass market Rover division, is still interested in the sports brand and business.

But he predicted the famous marque would go to one of the big carmakers. 'If, sitting back at Toyota head office, some executive is looking to launch a new sports car, the MG brand is extremely attractive,' he said. 'The odds are extremely stacked against us.'

Moulton was speaking as bidders for MG Rover pored over sale documents which showed the company has barely any assets left. Administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) has sent out a prospectus to 40 possible buyers for the collapsed company, revealing losses of £250m last year - double those of 2003.

The company does not even own the unsold stock of finished cars, having effectively mortgaged them to raise cash.

Molton said the document, scant on detail, said bidders could take on the MG brand, but there was no mention of the Rover marque being available. The MG brand and the MGTF sports car division are likely to be the two biggest assets up for grabs.

The 2004 losses relate to the carmaking and engine divisions of MG Rover and show how severely the company had spiralled downwards in just 12 months. For the previous year, the businesses lost £92.6m.