City firms advise as Jaguar Land Rover secures loan from the EIB

Norton Rose and Lovells have taken lead roles on a £340m loan agreement for Jaguar Land Rover from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The loan has been granted to the car maker's parent company Tata Motors under the European Clean Transport Facility, a facility set up in 2008 to support research into green energy, and will be used to finance investment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The eight-year facility was primarily arranged by Credit Suisse, with State Bank of India, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda providing a guarantee. Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan are providing additional guarantees to meet EIB credit requirements.

Norton Rose advised the EIB, fielding a London team led by projects partner Madhavi Gosavi and banking partner Dean Naumowicz. The bank is a longstanding client of Norton Rose, with the firm advising it for almost 15 years.

Jaguar Land Rover turned to Lovells for advice, with London banking partner Andrew Taylor leading a team that also included senior associate Eric Halvarsson. Lovells has worked closely with the premium car manufacturer for the last year and has completed a range of banking and property work. Tata did not take separate legal advice.

The deal also generated roles for Linklaters and Withers. Linklaters ran a team from Singapore and Tokyo advising Credit Suisse in its role as lead arranger, with Singapore-based banking partner Phil Badge at the helm for the magic circle law firm.

The three Indian banks were advised by Withers, where London banking partner David Dannreuther took the lead.

The money is the last part of a funding plan put together by Tata for Jaguar Land Rover. In 2009 the carmaker secured £500m of funding through banks including GE Capital and Standard Chartered.

Tata bought the Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for around £1bn in 2008 in a deal which generated roles for Hogan & Hartson for Ford and Herbert Smith for Tata.