MG Rover has refuted suggestions that Daewoo Cars UK will be targeting its dealerships as it moves to establish a franchised network.

AM-online, which broke the story of Daewoo' s plans on Monday, understands that it will announce its fundamental strategy change tomorrow.

Industry experts have predicted that MG Rover dealerships could be a Daewoo target.

But yesterday at the Fleet Show, organised by AM sister-title Fleet News, a Rover spokesman said: “MG Rover dealerships are the most upbeat at the moment of all franchisees. Under our stakeholder agreement, our dealers have a 25% share in the company. We are in an increasingly strong financial position. I don't think they could be more happy.”

MG Rover is due to make a shareholder announcement next Wednesday - a year after it was sold by BMW - confirming it is a "cash rich" company.

The latest RMI Dealer Satisfaction Survey showed MG Rover dealers to the most confident of the marque's profit potential of any franchise holder.