Rob Hunt was on holiday with his family in Cyprus when he got the call to take on the MG Rover job.

Taking the first flight home, he became embroiled in the administration and liquidation of the firm.

But despite the gloom about the end of car production, he was optimistic about some sort of future for MG and Rover.

Mr Hunt, a joint administrator and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said there had been 60 registers of interest to buy parts of the collapsed carmaker as functioning businesses.

Ten of these included parties who wanted to buy the carmaking operation as a whole, with some prospective buyers having already been to Longbridge.

More visits are planned in the weeks ahead.

Mr Hunt said: "We do this in stages. There are people interested in buying bits of furniture or kit, but those people will still be there in three months time.

"Firstly we will try and deal with people who are interested in buying the assets as a business, whether that is to run it at Longbridge or move it to another part of the Midlands or even overseas.

"These are the people we will give priority to because in all likelihood they are likely to pay a greater value for it."

This includes considerable interest from Chinese and Iranian carmakers, which in turn could lead to to a "shift and lift" of manufacturing abroad - proceeded by a limited resumption of carbuilding at Longbridge.

Mr Hunt said: "We have people interested from overseas, who are interested in building cars over here, albeit temporarily and perhaps moving them over overseas.

"We have people who are particularly interested in car lines, the MG F for example. Now they have got some information, they come and have a look around the site, seen the infrastructure and facilities.

"With the management, we have pulled together a presentation on the capabilities of the business, its products, who the suppliers are and we will give that to interested parties.

"Based on that they will decide if they are interested or not, although they will probably then undertake some of their own due diligence work."

Mr Hunt said some people had been interested mainly in the MG TF sports car business with a view to siting it at Longbridge temporarily before moving it to a new location.

He said: "Longterm the MG TF business is in a huge great factory and it is not the most efficient way of making them."

The reason for the overseas interest was the lack of manufacturing capability and branded products in the Far East and Eastern Europe.

Mr Hunt said: "There is an attraction in MG Rover, which is knowledge, capability and a know-how of how to make cars.

"Some of that is capable of being lifted and shifted, that has been done before. Khodro in Iran I think made Peugeot 405s under licences and I think Peugeot moved a lot of the kit over there.

"Lift and shift, that is the most likely outcome. It might involve the transition, and the production of some cars here while they make that transition.

"The chances of somebody coming in here and beginning large scale production are very unlikely, but we could see it where some cars are being made in the short term.

"But small scale production could resume, to keep the market place turning so Rover does not lose some of its profile in the market place."

Mr Hunt said no deadlines had been set so far in the administration for offers.

He added: "I would be very surprised if anyone completed a transaction before the end of May, and I think the end of June will be pushing some.

"This will go on a for a couple of months. This is one of the most complex administrations, and it makes it a little more complex if buyers don't have an existing business in the UK, and they are not used to customs and practices."

Ultimately, Mr Hunt thought something could be rescued from the wreckage.

He said: "I would hope that there will be some form of business sale at MG Rover and Powertrain. I don't believe it will lead to full scale car production in the Midlands as it was a month ago.

"There will be someone buying all of this business, and in that respect parts of MG Rover and the MG Rover name will be with us for some time yet.

"It may be somebody who buys the MG TF and puts the production in a different part of the Midlands or a different part of the UK.

"My view of what the business and the level of interest in it reflect this and the opportunity it offers.

"MG Is a powerful name and brand and I know people will be attracted to that."