UK Manufacturing Given McClaren Boost

McLaren Automotive is set to become Britain’s newest car manufacturer after McLaren Group boss Ron Dennis told the Telegraph that it has raised £260 million of new business finance to help fund a sports car manufacturing business.

McLaren, which is well-known for its Formula One heritage, has secured finance from banking giants Credit Suisse and HSBC, while attracting a number of lucrative private investors.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Dennis, Executive Chairman of McLaren Group and McLaren Automotive, confirmed the news.

McLaren is reportedly offering a 48 percent stake in the organization to new investors.

The remaining 52 percent is made up of the Bahrain sovereign wealth fund, watchmaker Tag Group, and Dennis, all of whom are existing McLaren shareholders.

First Car on Sale in 2011
The group’s first car, the MP4-12C, will not actually go on sale until next year - likely Spring 2011 – and it will be priced between £125,000 and £175,000.

McLaren is constructing a new plant alongside its McLaren Technology Centre in Woking to build the cars.

It will create 300 jobs.

Dennis told the Telegraph: “The big thing about this car – because people have different perceptions about the aesthetics of sports cars – is how it drives. There is nothing like it. I can say that with a degree of certainty now because we are approaching a million miles of testing and endless developments. It is going very well.”

Last week, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that UK car production increased sharply in June, rising 28.6 percent on the same month last year.

McLaren Automotive is a new sports car business that has been spun out of McLaren Group.

SOURCE: Telegraph

Edited by Ellie Duncan