McLaren has sold its iconic Woking HQ to American real estate giant Global Lease Network for £170m.

The deal will see the companies Automotive, Racing, and Applied divisions continue to work out of the facility with a 20-year, NNN lease.

The deal is the latest stage of McLaren's bid to raise cash in the wake of a number of factors, not least the pandemic, which has hit sales of the company's supercars and also seen a reduction in the prize money dividend from F1.

Facing possible insolvency last year, in June the Woking company agreed a £150m loan - or "financing facility" to use 'Ronspeak - with the National Bank of Bahrain and subsequently sold a 15% stake in the F1 team to MSP Sports Capital, a US-based sports investment group, for £185m.

"We are excited to announce that this world-class facility will become part of the GNL portfolio," said James Nelson, CEO of Global Lease Network. "The McLaren Group Headquarters' state of the art buildings have won numerous awards, were designed by renowned architect Norman Foster, and are the type of mission-critical, net-leased properties that make up the GNL portfolio.

"We are very pleased to have been able to collaborate and work with the management team of the McLaren Group to effect this transaction. We look forward to the long-term partnership with McLaren and the benefits this transaction will have to GNL.

"The acquisition exemplifies GNL's ability to source large scale and accretive sale-leaseback opportunities in a competitive marketplace that add significant value to our overall portfolio. We believe our global presence as a leading net lease REIT will continue to provide attractive acquisition opportunities that complement our best-in-class portfolio."

The McLaren Technology Centre campus includes the McLaren Technology Centre, McLaren Production Centre and McLaren Thought Leadership Centre and was designed by world-renowned architects, Foster & Partners.

It has many environmentally conscious features. In 2010, the campus, which includes several lakes which assist in cooling efforts, earned Carbon Trust Standard certification from the Carbon Trust. The buildings have self-cleaning roofs that use a high-pressure drainage system to collect rainwater which is then used to refill the lake. In 2011 McLaren Racing was announced as the first ever carbon neutral team in Formula 1.

The firm has also planted more than 100,000 trees at the site and created a wildlife sanctuary for otters and kingfishers.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 22/04/2021 1:26

"It appears that the ousting of Ron Dennis and his subsequent payout has contributed to this long term cash flow problem. Now if you compound the 'virus effect' of reducing sales and subsequent income you reach a point where normal business conditions are no longer valid. This decision would not have been taken on a mere whim but as a result deep analysis to find for a way out.

Whilst I am not in any way better informed on this decision than any other member of the public I would ATPIT simply accept the fact that the board are not fools and they are doing their best for the company which is under serious duress from external factors that they cannot control."

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2. Posted by Wokingchap, 21/04/2021 10:09

"Sad news indeed..... everyone else has said it all, except £170 seems to be about a quarter of its real value ( but I'm no expert ) so they got a real bargain."

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3. Posted by Lapps, 21/04/2021 8:24

"Bottom line is that they are raising cash by selling an asset and it will cost them more in the long run, as does a normal mortgage. Presume they need to do this to survive, but Zak did always give the impression of being from the Cast of ‘Only Fools and Horses’, so they should be ok (given a few race wins!)"

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4. Posted by TokyoAussie, 21/04/2021 4:28

"Genuinely stunned at this news. Sounds like the beginning of the end."

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5. Posted by Carlh94, 21/04/2021 0:49

"Not short of the usual meaningless buzz words is our Mr. James Nelson, is he? 'Mission Critical", 'Accretive sale-leaseback', 'best in class portfolio', the list goes on. Any bets on how long McLaren will last in the MTC? You can be sure that the Americans will squeeze them to death over the next couple of years, but, of course our Zac Brown, being out of the same mould, already knows that. I wonder just how much GNL, (or should that be GLN) figures in his personal portfolio?
Bring back Ron... Please!"

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6. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 20/04/2021 17:17

"McLaren appears to be in a desperate situation. They must be praying for salary caps on drivers. Should we expect a McLaren SUV come 2024?

Would be awesome if Ron bought double the equity for they paid him."

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7. Posted by Mad Matt, 20/04/2021 16:13

"I'm never convinced this sort of thing makes sense in the long term. They'll now have to rent or lease the building which will cost more over time (no landlord is going to rent it at a loss). McLaren also have to be sure they can maintain a revenue stream to pay the rent or they'll be evicted.. game over.

I suppose it would make sense if you were sure you could use the sale price to make more money than you'll lose on the rent but I think a lot of businesses are woefully optimistic about these things."

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8. Posted by jo6pac, 20/04/2021 14:20

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMM, ever since Ron was forced out they have had cash problems"

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McLaren sells MTC for £170m

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