JLR, the conglomerate that owns the Jaguar and Land Rover brands, is considering a "multi-million pound bid to buy the Silverstone race circuit," according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. The carmaker is "said to have examined plans to take over the struggling circuit," which is the home of the British Grand Prix. The plan would be to turn Silverstone into the company HQ with a staff of 1,000 people plus a heritage center to "show off its successful range of cars." At this stage, this appears to be "little more than an exploration" but a bid would "probably be welcomed by the Silverstone authorities," struggling with the "rapidly escalating costs" of staging the Grand Prix despite the "massive" popularity of the annual race, first staged at the circuit in '50 (LONDON TIMES, 12/2). In London, Kiran Stacey reported documents show that the car manufacturer asked Cushman & Wakefield, the property consultant, "to draw up a valuation for the Northamptonshire track in July." Under the terms being considered, Silverstone would become JLR’s home and would include a "heritage centre" to display the company’s fleet of cars, offices for up to 1,000 staff and a hotel and visitor center. Cushman & Wakefield advised the company that the "market value for the circuit, industrial units and land for potential development" would be £22.7M ($34.4M). A separate memo, apparently from within JLR itself, said the company was looking at a figure of up to £52M ($78.8M) -- although it is "not clear if these two figures relate to the same items." One person with knowledge of the process said that it was "not a done deal" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/2).
EARLY DAYS: In London, Alan Tovey reported negotiations are reportedly "only in the very earliest of stages with no certainty that an agreement could be reached," but the fact that JLR is "even considering such a plan shows the company’s long-term investment strategy." Over the past five years JLR has invested £11B ($16.7B) in new facilities, though the company’s "once unstoppable growth recently hit a speed bump" with it suffering a £157M ($237.9M) quarterly loss as sales in China fell by "almost a third" and the company took a £245M ($371.2M) charge after "almost 6,000 cars were damaged in the Tianjin port explosion." Silverstone is currently owned by the British Racing Driver’s Club, which has been responsible for "developing the track into one of the world’s most high-profile tracks for more than 50 years" (TELEGRAPH, 12/3). REUTERS' Alan Baldwin reported Silverstone said on Thursday it had received "no formal offer" from JLR. The BRDC said in a statement that it received "a number of confidential approaches and considered them on their merits." It added, "Should an attractive offer be received from any party, the BRDC Board would seek a mandate from Club members before progressing it." A Silverstone Circuit spokesperson added that "there has been no formal offer received from JLR." There was "no immediate comment from the carmaker" (REUTERS, 12/3).
