Ford is expected to announce an agreement for the sale of its Land Rover and Jaguar brands to Tata by the end of next week.

The latest speculation follows several weeks of rumour over when the completion of the sale would happen. Original reports suggested the sale would go through towards the end of February.

Sources close to the deal have said Tata has now secured a $3 billion (£1.5bn) one-year loan for the deal from Citigroup and JPMorgan.

Tata is also believed to need finance to help fund the start-up of assembly for its Nano low cost car which it plans to launch in India in the second half of this year.