Supercar maker McLaren plans to raise $620m

Cars on display in the McLaren showroom in Dubai. The company recently received funding from a group of investors, including Saudi Arabia's PIF. Sarah Dea/The National

McLaren Finance plans to raise $620 million in a bond issue, ramping up its funding spree as it tries to claw back losses from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The supercar maker, which is seeking to refinance existing bonds and bolster its balance sheet with the additional debt, held investor presentations for the new financing yesterday in London.

The bond issue comes on top of $760m raised from investors, including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, as McLaren tries to recover from the pandemic. The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted the Formula 1 racing series and caused the closely-held company to idle production. In April, the company sold and leased back its headquarters in Woking, near London, and has also sold as much as a third of its racing unit to a consortium of US-based investors.

The new financing “provides the opportunity to significantly deleverage the business”, a McLaren spokesperson said on Monday.

It also turns the corner on the company’s financial flexibility and puts the spotlight back on its manufacturing capabilities, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Joel Levington.

The new bond is expected to be rated Caa1/CCC+/B, among the lowest rated debt, and will add to the surge of challenged issuers raising financing in recent weeks amid soaring demand from investors for higher returns.

Even as the cost of insuring junk-rated companies climbed the most since March this month on fears that the pandemic will weigh on global demand, investors are still rushing to buy debt of high risk companies.

Earlier this month, investors piled into a new bond sale from PizzaExpress, placing around £2 billion ($2.7bn) worth of orders just months after the UK restaurant chain had to restructure. British luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover also tapped the markets and sold a €500 million ($592m) bond.