McLaren Automotive may be in huge trouble, as the company is looking to sell off its main building, the McLaren Technology Centre, in Woking, Surrey. Sky News were the first to report that McLaren Automotive were looking to raise at least £200 million in the sale of the building, which it would then lease back from whomever purchased it. The building houses some of McLaren’t most iconic vehicles.
Sales of McLaren Automotive vehicles were up by 44% just last year, but it seems the British car industry has been hit hard by the global pandemic, plus complications due to ongoing Brexit negotiations. McLaren Automotive has spent 2020 keeping itself afloat, with over a thousand jobs being cut and more funding being raised earlier this year.
This particular building was constructed in 2003, and was later joined by the McLaren Production Centre built alongside it.
About the McLaren Technology Centre
The building is accompanied by a series of artificial lakes: one formal lake directly opposite that completes the circle of the building, and a further four ‘ecology’ lakes. Together they contain about 50,000 m³ of water. This water is pumped through a series of heat exchangers to cool the building and to dissipate the heat produced by the wind tunnels. The main working space of the building is split into 18 metre wide sections known as ‘fingers’ that are separated by six-metre-wide (20 ft) corridors known as ‘streets’. Facilities for employees include a 700-seat restaurant, a juice and coffee bar, a swimming pool and a fitness centre. An underground Visitor and Learning Centre is connected to the main building by a walkway.
A 145-metre-long (476 ft), rectangular-circuit shaped wind tunnel is located at one end of the building. Team McLaren uses it for testing and development of aerodynamic parts, as well as testing aerodynamic set-ups. The tunnel contains 400 tonnes of steel and the air is propelled by a four-metre-wide (13 ft) fan that rotates at up to 600 rpm.
The Technology Centre consolidated all aspects of the McLaren Group at one site, instead of the 18 separate sites previously occupied.
