The investment will help to drive the Group's plans to reach the top of Formula 1, and continue its growth as a global sports franchise with partner capital and expertise.
McLaren Group will remain the majority shareholder in McLaren Racing with MSP Sports Capital investing £185 million and acquiring a significant minority shareholding of 15% initially that will increase to a maximum of a 33% shareholding by the end of 2022. MSP is co-investing with its strategic partners UBS O’Connor, LLC. and The Najafi Companies.
The Ashurst team was led by corporate partner Rob Aird with support from associate Shaz Ali. Corporate partner Karen Davies also advised. Partner Tim Rennie and senior associate Fiona Palamarczuk advised on financing aspects, with high yield partner Anna-Marie Slot and senior associate Michael Lee also advising. Real estate partner Sarah Sivyour and associate Aoife Devlin, IP counsel Don McCombie and associate Hannah Rumble, and digital economy senior associate Ilana Goddard and associate Adam Eskdale also advised. Employment advice was provided by partner Crowley Woodford with support from senior associate Hannah Martin, while partner Nicholas Gardner and senior associate Sara Mardell advised on tax matters. Partner Nigel Parr advised on competition with senior associate Christopher Eberhardt, and senior consultant Nicholas Stretch advised on incentives.
Ashurst is McLaren Group’s legal partner, following the firm's well established relationship advising the Group’s luxury supercar business McLaren Automotive.
Partner Rob Aird commented:
"We are delighted to be advising McLaren Group, a luxury automotive, motorsport and technology brand, in relation to this strategically important and high-profile investment.
"We are proud of our long partnership with McLaren Group and wish the team and the new investors continued success following a fantastic end to the 2020 season."
