McLaren receives $1 billion investment from Middle East backers

McLaren has announced it is to receive a financial boost of £550 million (AU$1 billion) – largely coming from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) and global funding firm Ares Management.

According to Reuters, around £400m (AU$744m) of the backing will come from the PIF and Ares in the form of preference shares and equity warrants, with the remaining £150m being paid by Bahrain's Mumtalakat investment fund, a 62.55 per cent shareholder in the McLaren Group.

After a tough opening half to 2020, McLaren put its Technology Centre HQ up for sale and received a loan in June last year from the National Bank of Bahrain worth £150m (AU$279m), with the recent investment helping to repay the debt.

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McLaren's executive chairman, Paul Walsh, said the investment will help boost the company's goals of becoming a leading supercar manufacturer and force in motorsport.

"Following the strategic investment into Racing we secured last year, this successful equity raise is a key element of our comprehensive financial strategy to support the Group’s sustainable growth plans," said Walsh.

"With these strong foundations now in place, we are well positioned to achieve our ambitions as a global luxury supercar and elite motorsport business, with automotive as McLaren’s core profit driver."

The McLaren Group is comprised of its road-car division and McLaren Racing, competing in Formula One and IndyCar with plans to enter Extreme E next year.