McLaren to create 200 jobs in Sheffield with new £50m plant

McLaren Automotive is to open a £50m manufacturing plant in Sheffield that will create more than 200 jobs.

The McLaren composites technology centre will build carbon-fibre chassis for future McLaren sports cars. Full production will begin at the site by 2020.

The carmaker, whose sister company runs the McLaren Formula One team, has invested millions of pounds in the past few years to develop a British rival to Ferrari. Its models include the 12C, and P1, which costs more than £1m.

The investment, supported by the council, is a major boost for Sheffield and the local economy. The prime minister, Theresa May, has identified the automotive industry and next-generation vehicles as key pillars of the UK’s industrial strategy after Brexit.

The facility, which could be expanded in future, will be built near Sheffield University’s advanced manufacturing research centre. Rolls-Royce and Boeing work with the university.

McLaren has used carbon fibre chassis in Formula One since 1981. The McLaren F1 was the first road car to be built with one when it was unveiled in 1992. But the company’s carbon fibre chassis are currently manufactured abroad by a supplier.

Mike Flewitt, the chief executive of McLaren Automotive, said: “In 1981, McLaren was the first company to recognise the exceptional properties of carbon fibre, and we have designed the highly-technical material to be at the heart of every McLaren road and racing car ever since.

“The McLaren F1 was the world’s first road car to be built with a carbon fibre chassis and every car built more recently by McLaren Automotive has the same.

“Creating a facility where we can manufacture our own carbon fibre chassis structures is therefore a logical next step. We evaluated several options to achieve this objective, but [this] opportunity was compelling.

“At the AMRC, we will have access to some of the world’s finest composites and materials research capabilities, and I look forward to building a world-class facility and talented team at the new McLaren composites technology centre.”

The facility will be the first time McLaren has expanded beyond its headquarters in Woking, Surrey.

Last November, Ron Dennis was forced out as chief executive of McLaren Group by his fellow shareholders. Dennis owns 25% of the group, with Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat holding 50% and Dennis’s longtime business partner Mansour Ojjeh owning the rest.

Dennis was the brains behind the expansion of McLaren Automotive, and the Formula One team’s success in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He remains chairman of McLaren Automotive, despite losing his executive position with the group.