McLaren puts up UK headquarters for sale

McLaren has listed its headquarters for sale in a bid to raise cash and strengthen its books as it struggles to grapple with the fallout from COVID-19.

Company chief executive Zak Brown confirmed over the weekend that the business is seeking to divest the 500,000 square metre site in Woking that houses its road car production under McLaren Automotive, race car development in McLaren Racing and its technology innovation arms known as McLaren Applied and McLaren Electronics.

He explains the move will help generate cash for the business that’s currently financially restructuring after a tumultuous year.

This plan will reportedly generate a £200m ($500m) under a sale-and-leaseback scheme, according to Sky News UK, which also mentioned the brand is considering selling a stake in its racing operations.

McLaren has said the sale will not impact its day to day operations but the firm is expected to sell a little over half the amount of cars this year when compared to 2019 and 2018, while it also has raised £300m ($700m) through its existing shareholders and sought £150m ($450m) from Bahrain’s National Bank.

Earlier this year McLaren laid off 1200 of its 4000 staff.

Aussie F1 star Daniel Ricciardo will call McLaren Racing home next year when he leaves Renault’s F1 team after just two seasons. The racing division is reportedly responsible for 20 per cent of the firm’s overall revenue.

The iconic British racing team is not the only one experiencing financial woes on the back of COVID-19, either, with US-based investment firm Doriton Capital recently acquiring Williams F1’s parent firm Williams Grand Prix Holdings.

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