Interpublic puts Brands Hatch up for sale

Some of Britain's best-known racing tracks, including Brands Hatch and Cadwell Park, have been put up for sale by the Interpublic advertising group which has taken a $135.8m (£85m) write-down on the value of its motor sports assets.

Interpublic, which owns the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, bought Brands Hatch Leisure for £120m in 1999. But after the huge write-off it now has a book value of just $70m (£44m).

Interpublic renamed the division Octagon Motor Sports and it includes tracks at Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Oulton Park, Cadwell Park and four Daytona karting tracks.

But in its fourth-quarter results filed in the United States, Interpublic says it has "retained independent advisers to evaluate exit strategies relative to its motor sports assets".

Interpublic's figures showed a collapse in fourth-quarter profits to $20m from $96m in the same period last year. This included a "severe drop in profitability" at its main McCann-Erikson division and at Octagon Motor Sports.

It is unclear who might be interested in buying the race tracks, as most top venues are owned independently. Some sources suggested Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone might be interested, though he owns no other sites. Mr Ecclestone was critical of the handling of the Silverstone Grand Prix last year, having got lost on the way to the venue. Octagon leases the track from The Racing Drivers' Club.

Prior to Interpublic's purchase of the tracks Brands Hatch Leisure was a publicly quoted company run by Nicola Foulston, who went on to win the Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year Award. Ms Foulston is the daughter of the late John Foulston, a businessman and racing fanatic who was killed testing a car at Silverstone. Mr Foulston had bought Brands Hatch for just £5m in 1986. His daughter took over in 1990.

Interpublic has debts of $2.6bn. It said in its results statement that it "intends to access the capital markets in the near term".

The group has also obtained waivers relating to potential defaults on its credit facilities from Prudential. It had previously announced a $500m interim credit facility from UBS.