Ron Dennis agrees to sell shareholdings in McLaren

Ron Dennis, chairman of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Technology Group, has agreed to sell his shareholdings in both companies after 37 years at the head of the company.

Since 1980, he has transformed the fortunes of McLaren taking it from a company valued at £3 million to one now worth £2.4 billion. Dennis, who has had a 51-year career spent working on Formula 1 and other racing series, made this announcement today.

He said: “I am very pleased to have reached agreement with my fellow McLaren shareholders. It represents a fitting end to my time at McLaren, and will enable me to focus on my other interests. I have always said that my 37 years at Woking should be considered as a chapter in the McLaren book, and I wish McLaren every success as it takes the story forward.

“Perhaps my greatest satisfaction is the Formula 1 team’s outstanding racing safety record, which is a tribute to the dedication and efforts of hundreds if not thousands of talented and conscientious employees whom I have had the privilege of leading.”

During his time at the company, Dennis has led the team to 158 Grand Prix wins and 17 Formula 1 World Championships with drivers such as Niki Lauder, Alain Prost, Aryton Senna and Lewis Hamilton, to name but a few.

The move sees the unification of McLaren Automotive and McLaren Technology Group into one business. The Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company and the TAG Group remain as long-term majority shareholders of the new group, while Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa will become its new executive chairman.

Dennis added: “I will continue to consult for various companies and work with the UK Government’s Ministry of Defence Innovation Advisory Panel in helping to improve the technology, the culture and the organisations that together safeguard the UK’s national security.”