McLaren Now Fully Owned By Bahrain’s Mumtalakat

British supercar brand McLaren (McLaren Group) is now under the full control of Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat.

Over the weekend, British supercar brand McLaren (McLaren Group) revealed that Bahraini sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat (Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company) has taken full control of the firm.

Previously, Mumtalakat already held a 60% stake in McLaren Group, but said sovereign wealth fund recently elected to acquire the remaining 40% and thus take full control. This is a significant investment indeed as it gives the British supercar marque a much needed lifeline.

Essentially, as UK title Autocar explains, Mumtalakat converted all of its convertible preference shares into ordinary shares as part of the restructuring. This puts the Bahraini fund in a strong position when working out its next move, which could either attract a buyer or float McLaren. 

Rivals Ferrari was floated on the stock market in 2015 with massive success. Aston Martin followed suit, but didn’t have the same good fortune when it initially went public three years later. The latter recently got somewhat of a lifeline with the entry of Chinese automaking giant Geely.

Recent releases from McLaren Automotive - McLaren Group's automaking arm - includes the upgraded GTS (left) and Artura Spider (right).

“This will further enable us to focus on delivering our long-term business plan, including investment in new products and technologies, whilst continuing to explore potential technical partnerships with industry partners,” said Paul Walsh, McLaren Group Executive Chairman, about the ownership shift.

Walsh’s latter point about partnerships is critical. Even with Mumtalakat’s help, it seems very difficult for McLaren’s carmaking arm, McLaren Automotive, to develop platforms and powertrain systems needed to compete at the highest level against rivals.

It is worth pointing out that much of these rivals are mostly backed by huge multinational carmakers and access to their tech. Now, McLaren Automotive has the financial support to develop its future models, as well as electrify its line up.

The McLaren Technology Centre HQ in Woking. The premise was sold in 2022 but a leasing agreement allowed McLaren Group to continue being based here.

McLaren has been searching for funding for some time. Earlier this year, Mumtalakat had reportedly approached potential investors, including Chinese automakers, in the hope of securing a capital injection and technical know-how.

The company, founded by legendary New Zealand racer Bruce McLaren in 1963, was forced to sell some of its collection of heritage cars to Mumtalakat in 2022. In the same year, it also sold its McLaren Technology Center HQ in Woking to Global Lease Network for £170 million (RM1.014 billion). 

Nevertheless, recent news surrounding McLaren isn’t all gloom either. Rumours indicate a long-overdue successor to the McLaren P1 hypercar will debut this year, promising a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) twin-turbo V8 heart with over 1,000 HP.