13:17 – McLaren has reached an agreement with the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) on a loan of £ 150 million (€ 164 million). The money from the Woking team hopes to solve the most acute financial problems.
The McLaren Group, the parent company of the Formula 1 team, has been facing serious financial deficits since the corona crisis. The sale of street cars has come to a complete standstill and the F1 stable also has hardly any income because no Grand Prix has been held this year.
The company had already laid off 1,200 employees and sought help from the government, but was not admitted to the UK corona emergency fund. The next step, a refinance that would use the buildings and racing car collection as collateral, met with resistance from a group of creditors. McLaren is currently filing a lawsuit against this blockade, claiming that if it does not find £ 280 million (£ 306 million) before July 17, the company could go bankrupt.
The case is due on July 2. Pending a court decision, McLaren has also contacted Bahrain’s National Bank to take out a loan. The lines with that bank are quite short. The bank is in fact 44 percent owned by the Mumtalakat Holding Company, an investment fund of the Bahraini royal family. And Mumtalakat is also majority shareholder (56 percent) of McLaren.
The loan gives McLaren some room for maneuver now that the lawsuit on the refinancing of the buildings and car collection has not yet been decided and also serves as an extra buffer once that case has been completed.
