McLaren agrees sale of technology division to increase investment push

McLaren

McLaren agrees sale of technology division to increase investment push

Added focus will be given to McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive

Ewan Gale

Thursday 5 August 2021 17:15

McLaren Group has announced the sale of its Applied technology division to Greybull Capital as part of an increased investment push.

The Applied branch of the business will continue to be overseen by the current management team at McLaren with the aim to expand under Greybull's investment.

The move represents a shift in focus at the McLaren Group towards its Automotive and Racing sectors, with the racing team, in particular, due to expand from F1 and IndyCar to Extreme E in the near future.

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McLaren Group executive chairman Paul Walsh said: "The completion of the strategic review of Applied is the latest in a series of proactive steps to build a more focused and profitable Group.

"McLaren now has the right strategy and focus to achieve our ambitions as a global luxury supercar and elite motorsport business, underpinned by a more sustainable capital structure.

"At the same time, we are delighted that Greybull's investment will provide a strong platform for McLaren Applied to innovate and grow as a world-class technology, data insight and analytics business."

McLaren Applied CEO Anthony Murray added: "We remain focused and committed to our existing customer and market segments of motorsport, automotive and public transport and this additional investment will ensure we can provide long-term stability and additional finance to develop market-leading innovations for our customers."

The move comes after a significant investment at the end of 2020 when an initial 15 per cent stake in McLaren Racing was sold to a consortium led by MSP Sports Capital which saw the F1 team valued at £560m.

The Automotive sector was also subject to significant investment earlier this year, thanks to the input of Ares Management and Saudi Arabian state fund PIF.

In addition, in April, the McLaren Group also agreed a £170million sale of its Technology Centre with US-based real estate investment trust Global Net Lease.