McLaren Racing posts £71m loss for 2019

McLaren Racing has reported a financial loss of £71.5 million for the full year 2019, according to accounts presented to UK Companies House.

The result still marks an improvement on the loss posted in 2018 of £84.5 million. The unit, which is a subdivision of the wider McLaren Group, posted turnover of £185.7 million last year, up £62 million from the prior year.

Before the start of last season, the McLaren Group was forced to seek a £150 million loan from the National Bank of Bahrain to shore up its finance amid the pandemic, and in December it acquired additional equity investment from US-based sports investors MSP Sports Capital of a further £150 million and £35m from that company's strategic partners UBS O'Connor and Caspian.

In its 2019 accounts, the company warned that the ongoing uncertainty around the pandemic had caused a “significant” impact on the business, but that the success of F1 in holding 17 races last year bode well for this year, while nothing that the long-term impact “remains uncertain.”

In his report, McLaren CEO Zak Brown said that while new regulations for the coming two seasons posed a “significant challenge to all those involved in F1”, it also provided the team with opportunities.

“We believe the new partnership with Mercedes will provide a powertrain that will provide us with opportunities to achieve our objectives and challenge for positions towards the front of the grid in the near future."