UK Export Finance (UKEF) has issued its first-ever guarantee under its new general export facility (GEF) programme, with a £500mn guarantee to support Jaguar Land Rover for a £625mn term loan from commercial banks.

The GEF, announced in March this year, enables UKEF to support exporters’ overall working capital requirements, rather than linking support to specific export contracts. Most beneficial to exporters with shorter manufacturing cycles, the GEF enables a wider range of exporters to access and benefit from UKEF support.

Citi acted as coordinator and facility agent on the financing, which was completed in October and will amortise over five years. Mandated lead arrangers and lenders were Barclays, Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan, NatWest and Standard Chartered. Jaguar Land Rover says the funds will be used to support its “continued investment into research and development of the design and manufacture of next generation electric vehicles and future mobility solutions”.

A Citi spokesperson tells GTR that this is “one of the biggest-ever financings for electric vehicle manufacture”.

“We are pleased to have been able to support Jaguar Land Rover in successfully concluding this first of its kind UKEF general export facility,” adds Alex Taylor, Emea head of export and agency finance, treasury and trade solutions at Citi.