Encouraging news in Britain's manufacturing sector this morning as it looks like Jaguar Land Rover is all set to expand one of its two sites in the West Midlands.

Word from the Daily Telegraph is that the firm is ready to plough something in the region of £200m into the Castle Bromwich plant that's just outside Birmingham. That would mean it could more than handle the commitment JLR made last month to producing plush new sportscars like the F-type. And even more luxury models for all those very rich car enthusiasts out there – of which there seems to be many! The firm's owned by Indian company Tata, and it's a real turnaround of fortunes for the plant which was actually threatened with closure just 3 years ago.

The promising news from JLR is the kind that the Confederation of British Industry is hoping to hear more of in the coming months. Even though the firm that represents business leaders cut its overall growth forecast for this year by 0.3%, down to 0.6%, it says the UK economy will return to growth in the second half of 2012. Business surveys suggest that underlying conditions are gradually starting to improve, and the predicted growth will come from the combined Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics effect. Not only that, but the CBI also predicts our economy will grow faster than expected next year.