More than 3000 UK jobs have been saved following the sale of Saab, the Swedish unit of General Motors (GM), the bankrupt US car giant, to a consortium headed by Koenigsegg, a luxury car maker.

General Motors Europe said a preliminary agreement had been reached to sell the division to a group led by Koenigsegg, a Swedish sportscar maker which employs just 45 people. It declined to reveal the identity of the other investors.

Saab, one of Sweden's best-known brands, employs 3,400 people in the country. Around 3,000 people are employed at Saab's 87 UK dealerships and 100 at its UK headquarters.

GM Europe said the sale is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. The deal will be funded, in part, by an expected $600 million from the European Investment Bank, guaranteed by the Swedish Government.

However, the Swedish Government maintained the issue of financing had not been resolved. Joran Hagglund, state secretary for Sweden's industry ministry, said: "We do not yet know if Koenigsegg group will need loan guarantees or not."

Carl-Peter Forster, president of GM Europe, said: "This is yet another significant step in the reinvention of GM and its European operations. Closing this deal represents the best chance for Saab to emerge a stronger company."

Saab, which is based in Trollhattan, southern Sweden, was put up for sale by its bankrupt US parent earlier this year. It claimed to have had approaches from more than 20 potential bidders although a short-list of two or three buyers had emerged in recent weeks.

The group has been making cars since 1949 and has been loss-making since 2001. Last year, Saab's sales fell 25 per cent to 93,295 vehicles - 1.1 per cent of GM's total output.

Swedish unions feared that if Saab collapsed, the jobs toll would hit 15,000 from losses in the supply chain and related activities.

Richard Williams, owner of Bristol’s Williams Automobiles, one of Saab's largest authorised repairers in the UK, said: "This is excellent news and I think it will be an excellent future for Saab The key thing is whether the consortium has the resources to do this."

Last week, 5,000 Vauxhall jobs were again thrown into doubt when Lord Mandelson and the German Economy Minister effectively opened the auction for teh carmaker to new bidders.

The Business Secretary announced that Britain and Germany had received only a memorandum of understanding from Magna International, the Canadian car parts supplier, the supposed buyer of General Motors Europe and that they were keen to talk to other bidders.

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