The BBC has ruled out the sale of its commercial arm BBC Worldwide, and says it intends to expand the existing operation.

A review of commercial activities concludes that some individual parts of Worldwide's business could benefit from new partnerships or outside shareholders.

This would help increase revenues to meet the government's challenge to the BBC in the licence fee settlement to generate �1.1bn in savings and commercial income over the next five years.

The review also recommends that alternative ways of providing greater access to the capital markets are explored for Worldwide and the BBC's other commercial businesses.

Worldwide has also been set a new target of �20m in cost savings so that more money can be directed into frontline programme making.

Rights

BBC Director-General Greg Dyke said: "Because of the BBC's unique means of public funding and the responsibilities that brings, commercial activities are undertaken as a way to drive as much value from our assets as possible to enable us to reinvest more money back in to programmes and services.

"BBC Worldwide is responsible for a whole range of content rights issues. Selling Worldwide could mean the BBC losing control of its prime assets - its brands and its programmes - to a third party which would not be in the interests of licence payers."

He added: "Global producers like Disney or Fox would never contemplate selling all rights to characters and films to someone else, why would the BBC?

"However, in some business areas we may consider partnerships or bringing in outside shareholders which could help growth and development."

The review suggests Mr Dyke should chair a board aiming to give a greater focus to commercial activities.

And commercial guidelines should be revised to allow its business to expand beyond merely the BBC programme spin-offs it deals with now.

Rupert Gavin, BBC Worldwide chief executive, said: "We are well on our way to delivering our planned efficiency targets."

In the BBC's latest annual report, published on 4 July, Worldwide reported record sales of �587 million.