Owner the British Racing Drivers’ Club has completed a 999-year lease deal on the Silverstone industrial estate and development land around the circuit (marked in orange) on which planning permission has been granted.

Commercial property company MEPC has paid £32 million for the lease. The payment will enable BRDC to pay off its loans from Lloyds Banking Group and Northamptonshire County Council.
BRDC chairman Stuart Rolt said: ““We have every confidence that their vision for our land will see the realisation of a high-quality development, which will add to the ever growing status of Silverstone as a world-class centre for motor sport and vehicle engineering.

“We are also confident that in MEPC we have a partner which fully appreciates the status of Silverstone as a race circuit, its history, the ethos of the BRDC and the importance of doing everything to ensure that reputation is enhanced in the future.”

The BRDC board has spent the past three years seeking suitable investment partners and considered several offers before plumping for MEPC, owned by the BT Pension Scheme.
MEPC chairman Chris Taylor said: “As a long-term investor we are delighted to have secured this opportunity to create a large, commanding commercial estate with a key technology driver which will benefit hugely from its location, infrastructure and association with the home of world motor racing at Silverstone.

“The MEPC platform continues to demonstrate its ability to develop, manage and add value across its portfolio of major business estates in an innovative manner with a conviction to understand the needs of its occupiers as the key to its success.”

Chief executive Rick de Blaby added: “It is now MEPC’s wish to see that vision materialise in all its forms and we are incredibly excited about investing in a number of the specific projects we have already identified for the next 24 months, albeit the on-going development of Silverstone could be a ten-year project.

“It is a significant responsibility to fulfil the entirety of our now shared vision, but one I am confident will be achieved.”

The agreement with MEPC does not include the development or management of the circuit itself. The BRDC has agreed terms with a suitable partner to further develop and invest in the circuit and circuit-related facilities. It aims to complete negotiations before the club’s AGM on October 4.