JAGUAR Land Rover has secured an 18 month lifeline despite running up losses that have climbed to £1.2bn in the past year.

The figure includes a pre-tax loss of £349m on business activities plus pension losses and other tax charges.

But the car firm’s latest accounts filed at Companies House show JLR has secured a £600m bank facility that will enable it to keep trading until the end of next year, securing hundreds of Merseyside jobs at Halewood.

JLR was within days of defaulting on its loans before it negotiated an extension with its syndicate of more than 20 banks.

The accounts demonstrate the business is able to continue as a going concern although the company is still pressing the government to underwrite a £340m European Investment Bank loan which will be used to develop new models such as the 60 miles per gallon LRX concept vehicle earmarked for production at Halewood.

Future prospects for the group – especially the Halewood plant – are dependent not only on securing finances but also on developing new eco-friendly vehicles for the market.

In the year to March 31 2009, Jaguar Land Rover lost £349m before tax, a figure that rose to £1.2bn taking into account pension losses and other tax charges.

But there was brighter news for the period between April and June when a £65m profit was posted.

The accounts show the company used a share issue in May to reduce borrowings to £600m and then secured a further repayments extension from the banks in the same amount.

The repayment terms stipulate that £200m needs to be paid by June 30 2010 and the balance by December 31.

The directors’ report for the period to March 31 2009 states: “The directors are relying on the support of their parent company to make capital and interest payments.

“The company has been informed by the parent company, and has seen evidence, that there is a detailed plan to provide funds to make these future capital repayments.”