McLaren Automotive boss considers floating company on stock market

Road car branch CEO Mike Flewitt reveals that shares could be sold.

By Sam Sheehan, Autocar UK

14 Jun 2017

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McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt with the brand's 10,000th car, a Ceramic Grey 570S.

McLaren Automotive could be floated on the stock market in a bid to further boost investment, the company’s CEO Mike Flewitt has suggested.

In a story published in The Times over the weekend, Flewitt said: “The more successful we become, the more attractive we become to people who want to invest”.

If such a process goes ahead, it would mean McLaren’s road car division, which is part of the McLaren Technology Group, would join Ferrari as a publically listed supercar maker.

Ferrari has demonstrated the benefits of selling stocks publically, with its share value rising by around 62% since it was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2015.

Like the Italian brand, McLaren has enjoyed strong sales successes in recent months. The Woking-based car maker shifted 3286 cars last year, almost double what it sold in 2015.

The best-selling single model across the range was the 570S, which was the cheapest model in the line-up until the introduction of the 540C later in the year.

Biggest demand came from North America, accounting for around a third of McLaren sales. Europe was the second biggest market for the company, with 996 units sold there.