McLaren closing in on £180m sale of Technology Centre

McLaren

McLaren closing in on £180m sale of Technology Centre

Group is in discussions with global investment firm TPG

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 9 March 2021 12:11

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McLaren Group is currently in advanced negotiations with global investment firm TPG over the sale of the iconic Technology Centre, GPFans Global understands.

McLaren confirmed last year it was hoping to secure a sale-and-leaseback option on its state-of-the-facility that has been its home for the past 17 years.

As a Group that incorporates not only the racing team, but also Automotive in terms of its car manufacturing and its technology arm with Applied, the company was hit severely last year by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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That resulted in McLaren making 1200 of its staff redundant, around 30 per cent of its total workforce, whilst it was also forced to seek additional outside investment.

After securing a £150million loan from the National Bank of Bahrain in late June, that was followed up in December by a £185million injection from investment company MSP Sports Capital in December in return for 15 per cent of the Racing division.

McLaren, though, has continued to seek a buyer for the MTC that sits on 50 hectares of land near Woking, Surrey, with the Group's executive chairman Paul Walsh making clear the move made "perfect sense" as it provided "a more efficient piece of capital".

TPG [Texas Pacific Group] is based in San Francisco, California, and Fort Worth, Texas, with approximately $85billion in assets under management and 14 offices around the world.

GPFans Global understands TPG is in exclusive talks with the McLaren Group in a deal for the MTC which is valued at £180m. Those discussions are progressing.

In December, Walsh stated the sale of the MTC would not solve the Group's overall debt problems, although it would allow it to more comfortably manage the issue.

At the time, Walsh said: "We will be pursuing equity. We will have to refinance our debt.

"People who know me know that I don’t like a lot of debt, so if we can get a very efficient piece of capital put in place through the sale and leaseback, a long-term commitment to stay there, why wouldn’t you do that?"

When contacted by GPFans Global, a McLaren spokesperson refused to comment.