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

6746 Views

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.