New Delhi: Tata Group’s UK-based battery firm, Agratas Ltd, will draw £1.15 billion ( ₹14,000 crore) in loans from a consortium of banks, which has approved increasing the amount by 53% from the earlier agreed £750 million ( ₹9,500 crore) and has also pushed back the deadline for repayment as the company prepares to to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Filings with UK’s company registrar reviewed by Mint show lenders have extended the repayment deadline on the loans from July 2026 to September 2027, with an option to further increase the loan beyond £1.1 billion and extend repayment until March 2028.
The additional funding comes after Agratas secured a £380 million grant from the UK government for the project in April.
“The Company has received credit committee approval from the banking syndicate for this loan to be increased from £750m to £1,150m and for the repayment date to be extended to 30 September 2027. The loan also contains an option to further extend to 31 March 2028 and provision to increase the amount,” the company noted in the annual return filed with the regulator.
The company signed an agreement with Standard Chartered Bank in June to create collateral for this loan using its land in Somerset, another filing showed. Mint could not confirm other banks part of this consortium.
Plant on track for 2027, first JLR revenue this year
The increase in funding, coupled with an extension of the loan repayment deadline, comes as the battery plant is scheduled to be ready by 2027, with Agratas gearing up to record ₹400 crore in revenue for the first time this fiscal as part of a ₹5,000 crore, seven-year deal with JLR.
In its annual return, Agratas also noted that it is creating avenues to fund its construction projects and research.
In 2023, the Tata Group established Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which has a UK-based subsidiary, Agratas Ltd. While the Indian unit is building a 20GWh facility in Sanand, Gujarat, the UK-based entity is building a 40 GWh plant in Somerset, UK.
Together, the plants are expected to meet Tata Group’s automobile businesses’ lithium-ion cell requirements and offer battery solutions for battery energy storage system (Bess) services.
The company’s use of funds is accelerating, with capital expenditure increasing to £279 million in financial year 2026 from £173 million in financial year 2025, given its April-to-March reporting calendar.
Spending, headcount rise as company scales up
Moreover, its research and development expenditure increased from £7.7 million to £20.9 million in the financial year 2026 as the company develops both lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) and nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery chemistries. The total number of employees at Agratas also rose from 193 to 320 as the company expanded its footprint, prompting a need for more funds.
“The necessary investment is expected to be funded primarily through Agratas Ltd securing debt facilities and supplemented by equity investment being provided by Agratas Energy Storage Solutions Pvt. Ltd (“AESS”), the Company’s immediate parent company,” the management said in its report.
Moreover, the battery firm also noted that it is drawing ultimate funding strength from Tata Sons, the flagship company of the Tata Group, led by Natarajan Chandrasekaran, who is also on the board of Agratas.
“Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd (“Tata Sons”), which is the Company’s ultimate parent company, has previously announced Tata Group’s commitment to the strategic investment in battery cell manufacturing facilities in the UK, and AESS has to date invested £247m in Agratas Ltd (“the Group”) through equity investment,” the company said in its report.
Tata’s ecosystem edge, but EV adoption speed a risk
Experts note that the Tata Group is using its capital depth to fund the battery project, which can help in accelerating the deployment of its batteries.
“Tata’s ability to align capital, technology, manufacturing and end-market demand within its ecosystem is emerging as a distinct strategic advantage in the EV transition,” Vinay Piparsania, founder at MillenStrat Advisory and Research, an auto consultancy, said.
However, while funding is picking up, Agratas has also acknowledged the risk that the EV transition may slow, which could hurt its prospects for scaling the business.
“The key risks are around the speed of adoption of fully electric vehicles in the UK and EU. Current legislation is driving towards 100% of new vehicle sales being fully electric by 2035 in the UK and 95% in the EU by this date, with interim targets leading up to this date. A delay or extension of this deadline may impact the Group’s growth plans,” the company said on its risks in the coming years.