Property developer MEPC has taken on a 999-year lease with the Silverstone Industrial Estate and the development land which is around the outside of the Formula One circuit.
The track's owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), announced the news, emphasising that MEPC will not be able to manage or develop the circuit itself. The BRDC revealed in a statement that MEPC had paid £32 million for the long-term lease, while the money paid will be used by the BRDC to "pay off its long and short-term loans from Lloyds Banking Group and Northamptonshire County Council". This includes the £11.5 million which the BRDC borrowed from Northamptonshire Council.
The development land around the circuit has planning permission and negotiations are set to be completed at the club's annual general meeting on October 4th. It is hoped that new hotels, technology parks and businesses will be built on the land, potentially generating thousands of new jobs for the local area. The ongoing development is set to be a ten-year project, according to MEPC.
Rick de Blaby, CEO of MEPC, said: “That the BRDC had secured planning consent for its masterplan is to its great credit and we are, of course, hugely cognisant of the immense history of Silverstone and its current standing today, not just as a venue for world-class motor sport, but as a centre for high-end precision engineering."
The BRDC has also announced that it has agreed terms with a partner to further invest and develop both the circuit and circuit-related facilities. However, no further details have been revealed. Silverstone recently underwent a series of improvements, such as major investment in the Circuit and the building of The Wing.
MEPC is owned by the BT Pension Scheme.