Car collection of late McLaren co-owner Ojjeh up for sale
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - A unique collection of 20 barely used McLaren road cars that belonged to the Formula One team's late co-owner Mansour Ojjeh is being put up for sale, with hopes one very wealthy buyer might keep it together.
Classic and historic car dealer Tom Hartley Jnr announced on Sunday he had been appointed by Ojjeh's family to handle the sale, which could fetch more than $70 million.
Hartley also oversaw the sale earlier this year of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's collection of 69 historic grand prix and Formula One racers to Red Bull heir Mark Mateschitz.
Ojjeh's collection includes the very last model of the McLaren F1 to be built, finished in a unique 'Yquem' colour that was subsequently renamed 'Mansour Orange' by McLaren and which has just over 1,800km on the clock.
Only 106 of the McLaren F1 sportscars were made between 1992 and 1998 and a 1995 one that had done less than 390km sold for $20.4 million in a 2021 auction at Pebble Beach, California.
All the other cars are in the same orange colour and all are the final chassis made of each model.
Apart from the F1 and a P1 GTR, the cars are all unused and have been maintained by the manufacturer. Accompanying photographs showed them displayed at the Bahrain F1 circuit.
"Mansour was a founding father of McLaren as we know it today," said McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown in a statement.
"A massively passionate racer and automotive enthusiast and no bigger fan of McLaren. His collection is very special, I'm not aware of anything else that compares with it," added the American, who has his own impressive collection of cars.
Ojjeh, a Paris-born Saudi businessman, succeeded his father as CEO of Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG) and sponsored the Williams F1 team in 1979.
He then took an ownership stake in McLaren in 1984, financing the development of TAG-Porsche engines that won two constructors' titles and three drivers' championships.
Ojjeh, who died in 2021 at the age of 68, was a key figure in launching McLaren Automotive with Ron Dennis.
"Being entrusted with the sale of Mansour Ojjeh's McLaren collection is akin to handling Enzo Ferrari's Ferraris or Ferdinand Porsche's Porsches," said Hartley.
"This is the most significant McLaren road car collection ever assembled, and I sincerely hope it is acquired by a single buyer."
($1 = 0.7292 pounds)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Industrial firms to face £685m property tax hit after energy support pledge
Industrial firms are to be hit with nearly £700 million in new property taxes, offsetting some of the Government's move to slash their energy bills to boost competitiveness, experts have warned. Just a week after the Government's industrial strategy revealed electricity costs for about 7,000 energy-intensive businesses would be cut by scrapping green levies, estimates suggest many of the larger firms are set to see their business rates bill soar. Around 4,300 large-scale industrial properties in England – across manufacturing sectors such as automotive, aerospace and chemicals – will face a new business rates levy costing them around £685 million a year, according to tax and software firm Ryan. The levy, which comes into effect in April, is part of next year's business rates revaluation and is being used to fund tax breaks for high street retail, leisure and hospitality sectors, Ryan said. Alex Probyn, a practice leader of property tax at Ryan, said that while the industrial strategy move to reduce energy bills was welcome, 'it's perverse to then ask those very same businesses to foot the bill for high street tax cuts through higher business rates from 2026, a year before the energy support will come into effect'. He added: 'If the goal is to boost UK competitiveness, we need a coherent strategy that tackles the total burden of fixed costs — not one that gives with one hand and then takes with the other.' It follows Sir Keir Starmer's 10-year industrial strategy, which includes a measure to cut bills by up to 25% to help firms compete with foreign rivals. Under the new plans, a new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme from 2027 will cut costs by up to £40 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 manufacturing firms by exempting them from levies on bills including the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the capacity market. Around 500 of the most energy-intensive firms, including the steel industry, chemicals and glass-making, will also see their network charges cut. They currently get a 60% discount through the British Industry Supercharger scheme, which will increase to 90% from 2026. But Ryan is calling for more coherence in strategy from the Government, cautioning that any benefit from lower energy bills risks being undermined by increased property taxation. UK firms already face the highest property taxes in the developed world and more than double the European Union average, according to the firm. Mr Probyn said: 'We're seeing two opposing policies rolled out simultaneously. One aims to support industry by reducing energy costs. 'The other increases a key fixed operational cost — property tax — on the very same businesses to subsidise other sectors. 'There is no coherent strategy; it's a contradiction.' A government spokesperson said: 'We are making it easier and quicker for businesses to invest and grow by cutting British industrial electricity costs with unprecedented new support which will cut electricity costs by around 20-25% for thousands of businesses. 'Our reform to the business rates system will also create a fairer business rates system that protects the high street, supports investment and levels the playing field. 'A new, permanently lower business rates in 2026 will benefit over 280,000 retail, hospitality and leisure business properties and will be sustainably funded by a new, higher rate on the 1% of most valuable business properties.'
Sky News
37 minutes ago
- Sky News
Concessions to welfare reforms revealed after Labour backbench rebellion forces government retreat
Changes to welfare reforms, forced on the government by rebel Labour MPs, are being revealed today ahead of a crucial vote. The original bill restricted eligibility for the personal independence payment (pip) and cut the health-related element of universal credit (UC). The government, which insisted welfare costs were becoming unsustainable, was forced into a U-turn after 126 Labour backbenchers signed an amendment that would have halted the bill at its first Commons hurdle. While the amendment is expected to be withdrawn, after changes that appeased some Labour MPs, others are still unhappy and considering backing a similar amendment to be tabled today. 2:59 Here are the main changes to the UC and pip bill: • current pip claimants will keep their benefits; stricter eligibility requirements will only apply to new claims from November 2026 • a review of the pip assessment, which will have input from disabled people • existing recipients of the health-related element of UC will have their incomes protected in real terms Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said in a statement that the legislation now aims to deliver a "fairer, more compassionate system" ahead of the second reading and vote on Tuesday. "We must build a welfare system that provides security for those who cannot work and the right support for those who can. Too often, disabled people feel trapped, worried that if they try to work, they could lose the support they depend on. "That is why we are taking action to remove those barriers, support disabled people to live with dignity and independence, and open routes into employment for those who want to pursue it. "This is about delivering a fairer, more compassionate system as part of our Plan for Change which supports people to thrive, whatever their circumstances." On Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer said fixing the UK's welfare system was a "moral imperative". The government claimed cuts to sickness and disability benefits would shave £5bn off the welfare bill and get more people into work. The Resolution Foundation believes the concessions could cost as much as £3bn, while the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that the changes make tax rises more likely. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Sky News that welfare bill changes have put Labour in a much better position ahead of tomorrow's vote. On Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Mr Streeting said: "There were things that we didn't get right, we've put right, and there'll be a debate about future amendments and things, I'm sure, as it goes through in the usual way." On the same programme, shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately repeatedly refused to say whether the Conservatives would back the bill, but would review the proposals after the minister's statement later. "We have said that if there are more savings that actually bring the welfare bill down, if they'll get more people into work, and if they commit to using the savings to avoid tax cuts in the autumn, which looks highly unlikely at the moment, then they have our support." The Liberal Democrats plan to vote against the bill and have called for the government to speed up access-to-work decisions to help people enter the workforce.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Lloyds IT outages caused by years of underinvestment, executive admits
A leading executive at Lloyds Banking Group has told staff that recent IT outages have been caused by at least a decade of underinvestment and likened Britain's biggest domestic lender to a neglected house. In a leaked recording of a recent internal call with employees earlier this month, Ron van Kemenade, chief operating officer of the FTSE 100 bank, conceded that there had been 'more outages' and that 'all indicators point the wrong way'. He told staff: 'We should acknowledge that over the past weeks and months, slowly but steadily, our service towards our customers has degraded.' He said the problems were 'the result of probably ten to 15 years of underinvestment,' which he likened to a house falling into disrepair. 'If you don't maintain your home over the period of ten years, sooner or later, the doors are going to creak, the roof will be leaky, and the plumbing will start showing signs of deterioration.' His candid comments lay bare the challenge facing Lloyds, which is led by Charlie Nunn and three years ago set out plans to invest about £4 billion by 2026 to revamp the business, including by overhauling its IT infrastructure and digitising services. Lloyds is also following other banks by hiring technology workers in India, where it aims to have about 4,000 staff by the end of this year, while at the same time overhauling and cutting some IT roles in the UK. A big three-day IT outage at Barclays earlier this year has led to heightened scrutiny of computer systems of banks. Problems at Lloyds have included service slowdowns that meant some customers had to try more than once to log in to their accounts. Van Kemenade insisted on the call that the bank had examined the incidents and found 'no relationship whatsoever to the changes we've made to the organisation recently'. A Lloyds spokesman said that van Kemenade's 'honest self-assessment reflects our determination to learn from when we don't get something right. While we are proud that our latest data shows services have been available 99.98 per cent of the time, we are investing billions every year in our technology and working hard every day to deliver more and better for customers.'
