Thousands of workers at ailing car giant MG Rover were sent home on full pay today and were left in no doubt that the chances of a deal to secure their future were slim.

Administrators appointed to run the company after the collapse of talks with a proposed Chinese partner said they had no plans to resume car production at the Longbridge factory in Birmingham, which hasn’t built any cars since last week.They revealed that without a £6.5 million emergency Government loan they would have announced 5,300 redundancies today.

But the European Commission insisted it must approve the bale out, aimed at keeping the company afloat for another week, before the money can be paid.

Meanwhile, union bosses have welcomed an offer by MG Rover bosses to hand millions of pounds in assets to the stricken company, as administrators signalled that the Government may also be prepared to extend a cash lifeline.

A spokesman for Amicus said: "Any money which will make it easier to sell MG Rover as a going concern has to be welcomed."

The comments, which were echoed by other unions, followed moves by directors of the carmaker’s parent company, Phoenix Venture Holdings (PVH), to release assets to support MG Rover's Longbridge car plant in Birmingham. The assets include Studley Castle, a stately home in Warwickshire which hosts conferences and weddings, and was originally owned by Rover.

However, while Phoenix said that it had appointed trustees for a fund to administer the assets, it warned that, with other claims against the company, reports of a £49 million boost to MG Rover could prove optimistic.

"PVH has significant assets totally around £50 million but we believe a reasonable estimate of its present value is between £10 million and £30 million," John Towers, the MG Rover chairman and Phoenix director, said.

"It is important to note that this value is subject to attack by third parties associated with the administration of other parts of the PVH Group."

It has also emerged that MG Rover may also receive further funding from the Government, after the £6.5 million given to keep the carmaker afloat this week.

"The loan will be considered and reviewed on a weekly basis," a spokesman for PWC, the carmaker’s administrator, told Reuters.

"We’ve got to prove there’s a sound business logic for them to extend the loan."

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