By: Double Apex
McLaren was supposed to be the British foil to Italians such as Ferrari and Lamborghini. However, rapid expansion and mounting debt means that company ownership now completely rests with the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The McLaren Group Limited consists of the automotive business and motorsports group.
The former has built several desirable and iconic cars such as the MP4-12c, P1, 720S and Speedtail. The latter has competed around the world in Formula 1, IndyCar, Formula E, Extreme E and e-sports.
In recent times McLaren had to sell several cars from its own historic racing collection to stave off debt. This was followed by the sale of its own headquarters, the futuristic McLaren Technology Centre in Woking England. Its future now seems far more secure.
Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (“Mumtalakat”), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain already held a significant chunk of shares in the British company. Mumtalakat takes full ownership of McLaren Group following the conversion of all preference shares into ordinary shares.
Paul Walsh, McLaren Group Executive Chairman, said:
“We are delighted at Mumtalakat’s continued commitment to McLaren through this deal, which strengthens our ownership and governance structure. This will further enable us to focus on delivering our long-term business plan, including investment in new products and technologies, whilst continuing to explore potential technical partnerships with industry partners.”
His Excellency Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, added:
“Today’s announcement crystallises the next phase of the Company’s trajectory of growing its leadership position in the luxury super car and motorsports industries. This reorganisation and new simplified structure positions McLaren for success and opens up strategic avenues, which include exploring new partnerships to enhance the company’s growth over the coming years.
“The completion of this process is also a significant milestone that reflects our support for McLaren’s continued innovation and long-term commitment to excellence.”
* This article originally appeared on Double Apex and is used with their permission.