Carmaker McLaren selling its futuristic $250 million headquarters to raise cash
Norman Foster-designed facility has been used as a filming location
It’s a supercar headquarters fit for a superhero.
Carmaker and racing team McLaren is looking to sell its futuristic Woking, U.K., technology and manufacturing center for $250 million in an effort to raise cash after suffering a $235 million operating loss through the first half of 2020.
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Sky News reports that the move comes after the government rejected a $195 million loan request.
McLaren isn’t planning to leave the facility, but has hired property agent Colliers to market it in a sale-leaseback deal.
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The Norman Foster-designed facility first opened in 2004 and has an artificial lake that stores the water used to cool the facility in an ecologically-friendly manner.
The striking main building's design has been featured in various forms in film and television productions, including the SciFi HBO comedy “Avenue 5” and “Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw,” in which Jason Statham's character drove a McLaren 720S.
The privately-owned McLaren employs nearly 4,000 people and sold 4,662 cars in 2019 at prices ranging from around $200,000 to over $1 million, but is estimating 1,700 deliveries for 2020.