Last-ditch battle for Rover

The Phoenix consortium has pleaded for more time to be able to finalise its bid, but BMW has insisted that it is close to clinching a deal with the venture capitalists, Alchemy. The man heading the Phoenix bid, former Rover chief executive John Towers, will meet Professor Walter Samann, a BMW board member and head of the Rover group. The talks follow pressure from the UK Trade and Industry Secretary, Stephen Byers, who had discussions with both parties on Tuesday. Mr Byers said: "Whilst recognising that ultimately it will be for BMW to take a commercial decision, we shall continue to do all we can to assist the workforce at Longbridge." Unions are behind the Phoenix bid because it would attempt to preserve mass car-making at Longbridge, saving thousands of jobs which would be shed under Alchemy's plans to aim for a niche market. Representatives of the Transport and General Workers' Union are due to fly to BMW's head office in Munich on Wednesday to press for an extension to Friday's deadline for bids, which would help the Phoenix cause.