Whisper it, but Jaguar and Land Rover are soon to be under new management. There was no ticker-tape takeover, Tata doesn’t work like that.  

It was low key, keeping the Press at arm's length, that is how the group’s charismatic leader Ratan Tata likes it.

Professor Kumar Bhattacharyya, head of Warwick Manufacturing Group, who knows Jaguar, Land Rover, their parent Ford and Tata well, says the workforce has no need to be afraid.

"They should not be apprehensive," he said. "It means a better future."

Some would ask how Tata is going to address the three plant scenario, which sees Jaguar and Land Rover models built variously at Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, Lode Lane in Solihull and Halewood in Liverpool.

Most pundits say it is at least one factory over-subscribed.

Figures have never been revealed but analysts claim Jaguar probably lost in the region of £400 million last year whereas Land Rover made something like £750 million profit.

But Lord Bhattacharyya, who has known Tata for 15 years and worked with Jaguar and Land Rover for 20, says the critics are missing the point.

Tata, he says, sees it as an opportunity, not a problem.

"All the plants will stay," insisted the professor. "Tata is in for the long term. This is not about cutting and shutting. The capacity is there to produce the new models that are in the pipeline."

He won’t speculate about how much money Tata will pump in over the next five years, over which time it has guaranteed the business plan and model line-up, but suggests it will be "several billion pounds".

He insisted: "You cannot cut corners – that is what we have been doing in this country for too long. Those days have gone.

"Whatever is needed in terms of emissions and competitiveness – they will take all this into account."

Job numbers, says Lord Bhattacharyya, will remain the same and if sales improve then new people will be taken on.

It is, he says, a text book takeover – a win/win situation for both Tata and willing seller Ford.

Ford is retrenching to the United States in order to survive, and the money it is getting for offloading Jaguar and Land Rover is vital as it looks to pay off thousands of workers across the Pond.

Lord Bhattacharyya will not condemn the company for its mixed stewardship.

Some would say Ford is fleeing just at the point the businesses are turning round – surely madness.

But Lord Bhattacharyya was generous. "They have done their best," he stressed. "They know what they are doing – they want to concentrate on the US. There is no criticism from me."

Jaguar and Land Rover’s existing leadership will remain in place.

Tata is comfortable with that. Stability and sustainability are the buzz words of the moment. It clearly believes both marques need a bit of nurturing.

Tata, insists Lord Bhattacharyya, will be a benevolent owner, inspiring confidence and offering leadership.

"It has been right from the beginning," he stated.  "For the West Midlands – and we have had tremendous failures such as Longbridge – it just goes to show we can hack it.

"We have great ability in this region. People in the West Midlands can be proud."