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.
