The UK government has announced a loan guarantee to unlock up to £1.5bn in private financing for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), aimed at stabilising the company’s supply chain following a recent cyber-attack.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle confirmed the support on 28 September, saying the Export Development Guarantee (EDG), provided by UK Export Finance, will back a commercial bank loan to JLR. The five-year facility is intended to bolster the carmaker’s cash reserves so it can continue supporting suppliers impacted by the disruption.
With 34,000 direct employees in the UK and a supply chain supporting around 120,000 jobs, JLR is one of the country’s largest exporters. Its production bases in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood are central to the automotive sector in the West Midlands and Merseyside.
Kyle described the cyber-attack as “an assault on an iconic British brand” and said the government’s action would help safeguard jobs across the country. Chancellor Rachel Reeves echoed the sentiment, calling JLR “a jewel in the crown of our economy” and emphasising that the intervention would help protect “thousands of jobs” across the automotive sector.
Industry welcomes move but urges urgency
The announcement has been broadly welcomed by industry leaders, though some have warned that the benefits must be felt across the entire supply chain.
Stephen Morley, President of the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM), which represents 200 manufacturing firms, said the measure was exactly the kind of intervention the CBM Taskforce had been calling for. However, he stressed that the support needed to reach the smaller businesses most at risk.
“We are urgently pressing for more details on the support and, importantly, how we make sure the finance cascades down the supply chain and gets to companies who are currently on a cliff edge with cash running out and jobs in the balance,” Morley said. “If we can make sure this funding gets distributed quickly, we have a great opportunity to protect the UK automotive supply chain… however, speed is of the essence.”
He also thanked Industry Minister Chris McDonald, MP Sarah Coombes and other politicians for lobbying on behalf of suppliers, while stressing the importance of avoiding “political point scoring” and keeping focus on safeguarding UK manufacturing.
Regional and strategic significance
The funding announcement followed visits by ministers this week to JLR’s Gaydon headquarters and to Webasto, a key supplier, where they met with company leaders, employees and supply chain representatives. West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker described the loan guarantee as “vital” to the region, saying it would keep people in work and provide stability while production remains paused.
The intervention forms part of the government’s wider Industrial Strategy, which has committed £2bn in capital and R&D funding for the auto sector to 2030, with a further £500m to extend support to 2035. Alongside trade deals with the US and India, initiatives such as the Electric Car Grant and lower industrial electricity costs are intended to strengthen the competitiveness of the UK automotive industry.
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