THE BRITISH bid for the MG division of the MG Rover Group was expected to be formally offered today.

Business trouble-shooter David James indicated that the bid from his consortium will be worth about £15m. His offer will be for the sports car division only in the hope of maintaining a niche manufacturer on the Longbridge site.

Mr James said that Trade and Industry Secretary Alan John-son has said the Government cannot back the bid financially, but that it may be able to support to the new MG company once he has acquired it.

He declined to name his financial backers, but said he expected them to sign up to the deal today, allowing him to make a formal bid to administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr James did not put a precise figure on the value of the bid, but told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Our bid is consistent with producing the figure which would get the administrator above £50m if he gets £35m for the Powertrain side, but we have to have some working capital too, which we would have on that basis."

Two bids for the whole MG Rover Group are understood already to have come from Chinese motor manufacturers SAIC and Nanjing, the latter believed to be worth about £50m.