NOVEMBER 14, 2005

Four companies left in Silverstone bidding

There are four companies in the final bidding to win the contract for redevelopment of Silverstone. The final decision will be made by the board of the British Racing Driver's Club on November 24.

There are four companies in the final bidding to win the contract for redevelopment of Silverstone. The final decision will be made by the board of the British Racing Driver's Club on November 24. Nine bids were originally received but these have now been whittled down to four and a decision will be made next week over which bid is going to be recommended to the BRDC board. It is not totally clear which companies are involved but the most likely ones are the large property development firm St Modwen Properties PLC; MEPC, which develops and operates business parks, and America's Anschutz Entertainment Group, a sporting and music entertainment company which operates sporting venues in the US.

The precise details of the plans are not currently known but they are expected to include commercial and leisure facilities designed to generate money from facilities other than the racing circuit. These are likely to include a hotel and a technology park and probably other attractions to pull in crowds. It may end up being the latest in a series of F1-related theme parks with convention centres and museums.

There has been talk of a rail link to Silverstone and while this may sound outrageously expensive, it would be a lot cheaper than some would imagine as there are two routes of former branch lines which still exist and could be revived if the money was available.