McLaren considers sale of global headquarters to raise cash

[LONDON] Luxury sports-car maker McLaren Automotive is considering a sale of its global headquarters as part of a refinancing strategy the company announced earlier this year.

The UK company has also appointed banks to advise on a debt restructuring and equity raise to buttress its balance sheet, it said in a statement Thursday.

The company has struggled since the coronavirus outbreak. A 300 million-pound (S$526.6 million) equity raise early this year hasn't been enough to face an almost 70 per cent revenue collapse throughout the pandemic.

McLaren sought emergency funds over the summer offering its headquarters and historic car collection as collateral. However, existing creditors opposed the plan in court, eventually forcing McLaren to raise 150 million pounds from National Bank of Bahrain, a lender linked to its largest shareholder Mumtalakat, Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund.

The company needs to fix its finances to continue developing models that allows it to compete with the likes of Ferrari. It is also working to increase the proportion of its components that are made in the UK as the transition period for Britain leaving the European Union ends this year.

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