Supercars owner Archer Capital sells to RACE consortium

The Supercars Championship has officially been sold, as majority shareholder Archer Capital agreed to sell its stake to a new owner.

Having taken control of the sport 10 years ago, Archer Capital will relinquish its majority share of Supercars to Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd (RACE) – a consortium comprised of TGI Sport chairman Barclay Nettlefold, the Australian Racing Group (ARG) and advisory firm Henslow.

Supercars and ARG have been locked in a heated battle since 2019 when the latter introduced TCR Australia to the local motorsport community, although both Supercars and TCR will feature at this year’s six-day Bathurst 1000.

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Peter Wiggs, chairman of Supercars and Archer Capital, said the sport will be in good hands under RACE, as the transition of shareholding is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

"We set out to find a new majority shareholder that would be able to build on the work that Archer and the management team have done over the past five years,” said Wiggs.

"The expertise that RACE has in sport, media, marketing and digital will enable just that."

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Barclay Nettlefold, whose TGI Sport company is a part of multi-sport operations across the globe, said the sport couldn’t have survived the pandemic without Archer’s support.

"Supercars, with the support of Archer, has done an amazing job navigating the past two years.

"The RACE Board and I look forward to combining our collective resources, heralding an exciting new era in the growth of a sport that Australians love."

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The sale is an important step for the future of the sport after it entered a new TV rights deal with the Seven Network and Foxtel at the beginning of the year, as well as its aim to introduce the new Gen 3 regulations from 2023.

It is understood RACE will not only be taking over Archer’s complete 65 per cent stake, but also buying the remaining 35 per cent share from the teams, according to motorsport publication Speedcafe.

Since listing its portion for sale earlier this year, numerous parties became interested, from previous owners IMG, to NASCAR's France family and a five-part consortium of Peter Adderton, Paul Morris, Mick Doohan, Alan Gow and Pete Smith.