While the Government will be pleased that there seems to be reasonable numbers of serious bids for each of the lines, there remains serious dissatisfaction among some of the bidders over the length of the proposed franchises and the complexity of the process. The shortlisted consortia have until 27 October to submit their final bids for the three lines: Great Western Rail (InterCity services out of Paddington); South West Trains (suburban and regional services out of Waterloo); and LTS (the London, Tilbury and Southend line out of Fenchurch Street).Roger Salmon, the franchising director, has refused to divulge the names or numbers of bids, but most are now known. At the time of his talks that was not at issue.He said that he had also discussed with Kevin the possibility of selling off a 20 per cent interest in Maxwell Communications Corporation for up to pounds 300m. Shares in Teva and Scitex belonged to the Maxwell group's pension fund company, Bishopsgate Investment Management (BIM), and were to be sold as soon as the time was right, said Anders Bergendahl of US investment bank Merrill Lynch. His company was to handle the sales for the Maxwells, but by the beginning of October 1991 - one month before Robert Maxwell's death - complications had arisen and it appeared to Merrill Lynch that the Maxwells were beginning to prefer Lehman Brothers to handle the sales.Asked if Robert and Kevin Maxwell represented themselves to Merrill Lynch as the owners of the Teva and Scitex shares, Mr Bergendahl replied: "Well, let's put it this way: that they had at least the control over the ownership of the shares."The question of the name in which the shares were registered had not arisen in his discussions with the two men. Robert Maxwell and his son Kevin discussed a sale of pension fund shares several months before the tycoon died, the Old Bailey trial heard yesterday. The compromise was difficult for us - but we are glad to have achieved it." Photograph: AFPBy the standards of other west European countries, the deal is farfrom tough. Special holiday money - in effect, a summer bonus - is doubled, to around pounds 700.
The Christmas bonus is also to be raised, to around pounds 900.. Ferdinand Piech, the chairman of Volkswagen, declared: "We wanted to settle for less. It is less than the 6 per cent the unions had demanded, but above the rate of inflation. VW will introduce the 4 per cent pay rise from the start of next year. The working week will average 29 hours - with a maximum of 39 hours.The German economics minister, Gunter Rexrodt, praised the deal as an "appropriate solution". Management and workers in harmony: Ulrich Dase of Volkswagen (left) with Jurgen Peters of the IG Metall engineering union as VW, Europe's biggest car maker, yesterday struck a crucial deal with its workers - marking another relaxation of the rigid rules that govern Germany's labour relations, write Steve Crawshaw in Bonn and Russell Hotten.
In return for greater flexibility, VW has agreed a 4 per cent pay rise and two-year guarantee that safeguards 100,000 jobs in the west German plants.German industrial workers remain the world's highest paid, and many big companies are moving production overseas. Klaus Zwickel, head of the IG Metall engineering union, said the VW accord showed that the union recognised that modern manufacturing required new labour pacts. But he would not elaborate.Chrysler's board voted last week to double its stock repurchase programme to $2bn (pounds 1.3bn), a few days after Mr Kerkorian hired Jerome York, a former Chrysler chief financial officer who has been with IBM for two years.. The low weight, only 675 kg, helps braking, handling and steering response, and cuts fuel consumption.Meanwhile, Chrysler's chairman and chief executive, Robert Eaton, told reporters at the show that the company had several strategies for any further takeover bids by Kirk Kerkorian. The mid-engined Elise is designed around what Lotus calls a revolutionary light-weight epoxy-bonded aluminium structure. The Elise two-seater convertible will sell for around pounds 22,000 and compete with roadsters such as Rover's MGF and the Fiat Barchetta.Lotus plans an initial production volume of 700 units per year, with first deliveries in mid-1996.
Last year Rover made a pounds 202m loss, despite the success of Land-Rover.Mr Reitzle said the takeover of Rover last year was a "tremendous opportunity to cut costs".Also at the motor show yesterday, Lotus, the British-based sports car maker owned by the financially troubled Bugatti group, unveiled a new lightweight model. But he added that BMW expects it will take around five years before synergies between the two enable Rover to reach a new level of competitiveness and profitability. However, this strategy is creating conflict with Rover dealers, who have complained they are not getting the sort of support given to sellers of Ford or Vauxhall cars.Mr Reitzle, whose reputation as a troubleshooter and tough manager sparked last week's speculation, said Rover's integration was going well. German car group BMW has hit back at suggestions that it is unhappy about the sales performance of its UK subsidiary, Rover Group. Speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show yesterday, BMW chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder said suggestions that it had lost patience with Rover were "absolute nonsense". Rover's European sales have fallen 13 per cent this year, and last week's news that BMW had appointed Wolfgang Reitzle as chairman prompted speculation that big changes were afoot.Mr Pischetsrieder said Rover's performance was fully in line with expectations and that the fall in sales was due to the introduction of new models and a change in strategy.Rover wants to become more of a niche player, developing a series of models that will move the company out of the volume sector. Mr Wallis is adament that the company is worth not a penny less than 300p a share..