Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is said to be in talks with the UK government for an estimated £1-billion support package to tide through the coronavirus pandemic, according to British media reports.

Britain’s largest carmaker has submitted a large bespoke loan package request to ministers in recent weeks, Sky News reports.

The request is understood to be for temporary state funding, with the loan request lodged with the UK’s department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS), which is headed by Indian-origin minister Alok Sharma.

“JLR [is] constantly in discussion with government on a whole range of matters relating to Covid-19 and we will not discuss the details which are confidential and private,” a JLR spokesperson said.

The Sunday Times reported last week that the government was exploring plans to become a lender of last resort to key companies, including JLR, which could entail the state extending loans that could convert into shares.

The UK’s treasury department plans to set up a “bad bank” or “asset resolution” fund to hold stakes in companies that it may end up part-owning.