Williams endures significant £50m loss amid £555m rebuild injection

Williams recorded a near £50million loss for the last financial year despite a significant cash injection of over £550million.

But while the loss was significant in size, it still marked an improved position for the squad relative to F1 2023 as the operation continues efforts to rebuild.

Williams financials are recovering as rebuild continues

Williams saw revenues of just under £180million ($242.3m) for F1 2024, which translated into a deficit of £49.846million ($67.3m).

It posted operational expenses of £176.2million ($237.2m), up £15 million ($20.2m) on the year before, and also enjoyed a 50 per cent rise in other operating income.

The squad ended the year in a far more liquid position than it had been, with £25million ($33.7m) of cash available.

“Whilst the Group remains in a loss position, this is in line with expectations and the Group’s strategy to continue investing in all areas of the business to drive both on-track and commercial performance in pursuit of success in the medium and long-term,” noted Matthew Savage, one of the squad’s three listed directors.

“The balance sheet remains strong with net assets of £130.1m as at 31 December (2023: £67.3m), providing a sound financial base on which to continue the team’s long-term strategy of returning to the front of the grid and being financially stable.”

Also noteworthy is that Williams raised significant additional capital during the course of 2024.

In October, it raised £271.5million ($365.5m) through a share allotment, with a further £284million ($382.3m) in December, for a total of £555.5million ($747.15m).

It is not the first time, with the squad having allotted shares on nine other occasions since September 2020, for a total injection of £1.5 billion ($2.02bn).

Williams share allotments since 2020

Owned by Dorilton Capital, which acquired the team from the Williams family for $200million in August 2020, Williams Grand Prix Engineering (to give it its registered name) was valued by Sportico in late 2024 at £920million ($1.24bn).

That figure that will have only increased since, a point that speaks to Savage’s commitment to growth within the organisation.

As it stands, Dorilton would boast a comparatively low return on investment given the sums it has sunk should it opt to divest the F1 team.

As such, the latest accounts reaffirm a longer term commitment with a view to a significantly increased return – more akin to the likes of MSP Capital which boasted a ten-times return on investment when it sold its minority stake in McLaren Racing last month.

Since the end of F1 2024, Williams’ trajectory has been upward.

In January, it signed a new title partnership deal with Atlassian, described as “the biggest in Williams’ history.”

That built on a host of new sponsorship arrivals in recent years, with Komatsu, Mercado Libre, Globant, Keeper Security, Vast Data and Zoox all coming onboard during F1 2024.

On track, the squad has also bolstered its ranks with the arrival of Carlos Sainz, who took over from Franco Colapinto in partnering Alex Albon for the current campaign – both drivers on ‘multi-year’ contracts.

Sainz netted his first podium for the squad in Azerbaijan, with the associated points helping to safeguard its fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Having scored just 17 points through 2024, Williams has already amassed 101 in F1 2025, with seven races and three sprints remaining.

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That will almost certainly translate into a healthy financial bonus in F1 2026 as a result of prize money increases.

Last year, Williams enjoyed prize money payouts based on finishing seventh in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship (estimated at £40.5million; $54.5m).

That it fell to ninth at the end of last season will left the Grove-based operation entitled to the second smallest helping of prize money from Formula One Management this year, which is set to see the team lose more than £7.5million ($10m) in revenue.

That will be offset by the new commercial deals inked for F1 2024, and then again should it maintain fifth in the Constructors’ Championship with increased prize money payments next season.

Coupled with its own commercial growth, and the continuing strong financial performance of the sport as a whole, and it leaves Williams in a solid position as its rebuild continues.

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