Talks between Nanjing Automotive and partner GB Sports Car on the future of MG Rover are set to conclude next week.

The deal between Nanjing Automobile, which paid £53 million for Rover's assets, and GB Sports, would see production of MG cars restarted at the company's Birmingham factory.

Nanjing Auto agreed in July to buy the assets of MG Rover and its engine division Powertrain, seeing off competition from rival Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC).

MG Rover was forced to sack 6,000 workers in April after a failed tie-up with SAIC, and it was pushed into bankruptcy.

However, it remains unclear whether financial backers of GB Sports Car, which is led by former Rover managers, will support the deal, the Financial Times reported yesterday.

"Everything in principle is agreed," the newspaper quoted an insider. "It is now up to the investors to actually put their cheques on the table."

If the money were to be provided, it would allow GB Sports and Nanjing to announce a deal in the middle of the week.

The Government-commissioned inquiry into MG Rover's collapse has already cost taxpayers more than £2 million, with the bill increasing by about £500,000 a month. No date has been set for the end of the inquiry either, the Department of Trade and Industry said.