The word from within the British Racing Drivers’ Club is that the hoped-for deal with Jaguar Land Rover is no longer an option, as the talks were terminated late last week. This is a blow for the BRDC board which was hoping to finalise the terms as it would have meant the BRDC would retain ownership of Silverstone Circuits Ltd. Unfortunately, it was not possible for any solution to be found between the two parties based on their different demands. A second bid, from Ginetta owner Lawrence Tomlinson, was also withdrawn a few days ago and so it looked as though the only bidder left standing was Jonathan Palmer’s Motor Sport Vision. However, it appears that there is another unidentified bidder which has emerged, the identity of which is currently unknown. The only hint is that this is an overseas investor with a long record of investing in the UK. The board has now decided to grant exclusivity to negotiate with this unidentified party, with the MSV bid being held in reserve. If these negotiations seem to be heading in the right direction, the board will call an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss whether to go ahead.
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joeblogsf1 
Gee whiz the place seems to be run like a small village Bowling club……
JP is a motor racing man, who with MSV seems to have put the circuits first. Is the exclusive company into motor racing? Or could it do for Silverstone what he who shall not be named did for Donington? Time may tell.
“This is a blow for the BRDC board which was hoping to finalise the terms as it would have meant the BRDC would retain ownership of Silverstone Circuits Ltd.”
Well they have managed to sell it, lease it, rent it so many times now with a “Bernie like” inventiveness that it comes as no surprise that the plan failed as did all the previous attempts.
No doubt they will try and sell the track inch by inch next with appropriate leaseback of racing rights of course.
Until the F1 financial structure changes and allows circuit operators to make a profit there is no solution for Silverstone that does no involve fairies with magic wands or billionaires with too much loose change.
I have been trying to think why Tata wanted to buy it in the first place since they already have their own test tracks, but maybe they were going to have public test days for the lower formulae .
I thought there had been some sort of idea that they would build a Jaguar Heritage Centre there. Maybe they have thought about it and realised it needs to be somewhere where there are public transport links as Silverstone is the back of beyond if you don’t have a car. I would think that the amount of debt accumulated in building ‘The Wing’ is at the root of the difficulties along with a long term committment to keep the British GP against the financial odds.
Very cloak and dagger regarding the mysterious bidder. Seems like Silverstone is becoming a poison chalice or a hexed piece of land. One minute someone is interested and the next it’s fallen flat. Hope the track doesn’t end up collecting tumble weed while this yo yo’ing goes on.
It would be great to have the industrial area buzzing and the same time F1 race remain intact .
Yup! It even saw Crane and Sam Kidd off!
Presumably it is not Tina Green!!
Interesting that MSV are not a preferred bidder. Possibly they would come up before the CMA (Competions and Markets Authority). Then again Johnathan Palmer probably has a realistic idea of a business model and that would not fit in with current thinking. MSV, if I recall correctly, put in a bid for Donington and did not even make the short list! Much to my regret.
Am mistaken in believing this Silverstone disaster is because Ecclestone has bled the place dry? Same as he did to Donnington Park actually. I know the deal Damon did sorted saved the British GP, but I wonder if it would have been better to lose the GP than having to sell the family silver to keep Bernie happy.
Quite. The circuit owners all over eeurope need a better business model. It was hunky dory for them until BCE came along and did more or less what Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant did to US concert promotors in the 70s. Silverstone could have managed nicely had they not spent beyond their means to accommodate the GP with the best of intentions. The comnercial rights owners have been playing hardball and it has sadly been men against boys.
Ong Beng Seng?
I doubt it
The unidentified bidder may be none other than your favourite penniless paddock billionaire VJ Mallya, who has managed to ‘borrow’ his friend Sahara’s hidden stash of dollars. He might look just a little out of place among the moustachiod tweed blazer cigar smoking BRDC set.
Is that before or after he is made Pope
In exile?
Please PM do not tempt fate.
That would be a nightmare in the making Vijay a dodgy geezer as a Pope (as Joe stated) and an owner of Silverstone.
All you need next is The Sin Eater to make an appearance 👿
Please post a picture of a tweed blazer. I could do with a good laught!
Myatery bidder = Donald Trump and he wants to tear the place up and build a golf course.
No, he wants to make Silverstone great again!
I rather hope that Dr Palmer takes it, he runs a slick operation at Bedford Autodrome and I’d love the chance to throw one of his F3000 cars around Silverstone.
Could it be the new billionaire on the block , Stroll , buying in ?
He already owns a track here in Canada .
Apparently year end accounts show cash reserves if £9000 ( Nine thousand pounds!!!) at 2015 year end. Can this be true?
I had the strong impression that they have not paid Bernie for this year yet.
Year end accounts are just that – a snapshot at year end. They might have had £9m the day before. What is the history of year end cash balances?
Do the BRDC still owe money on the Wing? And would JLR’s exit have anything to do with the sunk investment Porsche have made in their Experience centre?
Too right Edgar…BRDC shot themselves in the foot by not considering Porsche’s investment in Silverstone…big conflict of interest if rest of circuit became a Jaguar/Range Rover branding exercise. As BT used to say…”It’s good to talk”.
I thought that they did owe money for the Wing but I was wrong. According to Autosport Silverstone sold off 280 acres for £32 million to pay off debts several years ago – the wing was supposed to have cost £27 million. Howver they no longer recieve rental income for that land.
I don’t think JLR ever really wanted Silverstone – they are investing countless £m’s in their current bases at Gaydon and Whitley. It would have been quite odd to spend a lot of money developing two sites to then purchase a circuit and spend more £m’s moving staff to a new location for no real reason.
They clearly did
Gaydon is shared with Aston Martin and Whitley is just a building in Coventry Maybe Donington would work for them?
Would that be an “Overseas” bidder coming from the tip of the arabian peninsula who had great interests into buying in the F1. Interesting to watch.
What a shame …
Really hope the new owner still allows track days on the full GP Circuit, my understanding is the JLR were not going to allow this ? Must have done at least ten days there this year, for a circuit with no elevation change to speak of, it’s really testing !