Will someone buy this site?

Talks are being held with a number of international automotive firms over the sale of the BMW component factory in Swindon.

The German car maker is also holding talks with companies, including MG Rover, over the sale of its engine plant at Longbridge in Birmingham, sited close to the main production factory now run by MG Rover, but which is not part of its core business.

BMW, which sold Rover to the Phoenix consortium earlier this year, said there was no time limit on the talks.

Meanwhile, engineering firm Mayflower is reported to be interested in buying the Swindon plant.

"The site represents excellent opportunity for a potential buyer, such as Mayflower, to expand its base of operations," BMW spokesman Werner Rothfus said.

But BMW board director Prof Werner Saemann emphasised that while his company was in talks with several leading international companies, there is no pressure to complete the deal.

"We are in no hurry to sell this business," said Prof Saemann, also a former chief executive officer of Rover Group .

"Its capacity is being well used and there is no need to hurry or rush into anything.

"A supplier company as a new owner could broaden the business base for the plant and therefore, as we see it, it means a brighter future for Swindon Pressings and its workforce."

Chris Firth, a Swindon-based independent analyst for the motor industry, told the Evening Advertiser: "Mayflower looks particularly interesting as a buyer as a presence here would be particularly useful in view of its expanding aerospace interests in the West Country

"However, does anyone really want a 100-acre site when probably less that 25 per cent of the space should be able to satisfy any possible requirements?

"This begs the question of what to do with the rest of the brownfield site, which I would estimate should fetch about £100 million, and would it be suitable for development."

While the sell-off again raises uncertainty over the eventual fate of the Swindon site, all is not gloom according to Mr Firth.

"BMW obviously want to avoid a distress sale of the site, but in terms of efficiency it does want to dispose of the site as soon as possible," he said.

As reported in the later editions of the Evening Advertiser yesterday, 75 per cent of the Swindon plant's output goes to MG Rover, about 20 per cent to Land Rover for the Freelander and the balance for BMW's new Mini.

The German car manufacturer also confirmed that its Birmingham-based Longbridge engine, gearbox and foundry businesses, collectively called Powertrain, was up for sale.

Meanwhile, German papers have been reporting on the drama surrounding the sell-off, which it is estimated could raise as much as £300 million.

One newspaper speculates that the Powertrain plant is most likely to be sold to John Towers' MG Rover Group, which bought the Rover marque from BMW in May.

Mayflower, mainly supplying the commercial vehicles sector, has shown considerable interest in the forging press plant at Swindon.

"The plant would fit in very well with our strategy," said a Mayflower spokesman.

The German newspapers are agreed that for BMW, the sale of the two plants will mean the definitive end of its troubled association with Rover.

In May, BMW sold Britain's last high-volume car maker to John Towers, its former chief executive, for a nominal consideration of £10.

However, since then, the two sides have disagreed over the value of Rover's assets and Mr Towers is said to have made additional demands of about £2 million, roughly the value of Longbridge.

According to industry experts it appears likely that the argument will be settled in court.

But sources at BMW insist it would prefer to resolve any financial dispute by the end of the year and without resorting to lengthy legal proceedings.

A spokesman for MG Rover confirmed that it too hoped to settle the argument as soon as possible.

As MG Rover needs an assembly line in order to reach its production target of 200,000 units a year, the Longbridge plant, with its Powertrain assembly system, would offer the ideal solution.

At the time it sold Rover, BMW said that it had no interest in keeping the the Longbridge and Swindon plants open.

The German group is currently building a new plant in Hams Hall and is switching the production of its new Mini to Cowley in Oxford.

The engines for the Mini will in future be produced in Brazil by a joint venture with DaimlerChrysler, whereas the body parts will come from Germany.

At the presentation of the new Mini in Oxford, BMW had explained that because of the strong pound, the proportion of parts supplied from Britain would be cut back to 40 per cent.

For the workers at Swindon's former Rover plant, the last few months have been a time of uncertainty.

And with the latest news that plant owners BMW are intending to sell off Swindon Pressings, the workers are now more in the dark than they have ever been.

There have been no announcements made to the employees by managers, nor any memos.

All they have heard are rumours of events and, as far as the workers are concerned, it is business as usual.

Sarah Strange, 25, of Highworth, who works in the finance department, said: "We don't know anything, I am sure that the newspapers are being told a lot more than we are.

"It's all quite normal at the plant. We have had no announcements to the contrary or anything like that."

According to a BMW announcement made at the British Motor Show, the company are in talks with several leading companies, but it is in no hurry to complete a sale at the moment.

Paul Knight, 20, of Stratton, has been an apprentice at the plant for two years.

He said: "I don't know anything about the plant being sold.

"For the last two years that I have worked here it's always been uncertain. I think we are all quite used to it by now.

"Everyone's just working normally getting on with their jobs with no worries at all."

One of the firms which BMW is in talks with is the bus and truck manufacturer Mayflower which, according to BMW, could mean a brighter future for Swindon Pressing's workforce.

Simon Randell, 25, of Cheney Manor Road, who works on Rover 200, said: "There have been no announcements made or anything like that.

"The workers are always the last to know anything like this.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you whether a sale would be a good thing or a bad thing for the workers here."

At the moment, 75 per cent of the Swindon plant's output goes to MG Rover, about 20 per cent to Land Rover for the Freelander and five per cent for BMW's new Mini, which is being built in Cowley, outside Oxford.

Agency worker Antony Chambers, who is a spot welder, said: "All I know is that they are employing a lot of people from agencies and not employing anyone new on a permanent basis.

"I have heard that there will be four or five hundred jobs available in Cowley soon.

"No-one seems to be that sure what is happening here; we are all in the dark."

There have also been rumours that a major Italian group has been in discussions with BMW about buying the site.

Steve Knight, 45, of Gorse Hill, who works at the pressing plant, said: "As far as I know, nothing's changed. An announcement of a sale does not mean anything to us.

"We knew they wanted to sell it months ago."