Menard adds TWR facility to other purchases.

American billionaire IndyCar owner John Menard has bought one of the former Tom Walkinshaw Racing [TWR] sites, taking over TWR Engineering in the process, as he adds to previous acquisitions from the former F1 boss.

The old Arrows Grand Prix base at Leafield in Oxfordshire, which was also home to TWR Engineering, was sold as a going concern by administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers [PWC]. The deal is believed to have cost Menard several million pounds, but he sees the purchase as a vital piece in the process of developing an UK-based business.

"The acquisition of the design and engineering group of TWR adds a significant building block to our UK-based engineering business, following our recent purchase of TWR's Kidlington-based racing division," he told the local Oxford Mail newspaper, "The skills and experience of the TWR staff at the Leafield and Worthing facilities are impressive, and we look forward to continued growth."

The deal, which follows soon after Menard's Menard-Cheever company acquired the former TWR racing division, has been met with scorn in some areas, as it appears to have been struck between the buyer and a third party associated with former chief Tom Walkinshaw. As a result, the proceeds of the sale will go to the Scot instead of the creditors still waiting for payments they feel they are entitled to after the collapse of TWR.

The closure of Arrows came at the cost of some 250 jobs, while only half of the TWR Engineering workforce remains intact. However, TWR managing director Craig Wilson told the newspaper that Menard would be keeping the current team in place to work on future projects.

An auction of Arrows' assets has been put on hold, despite the team remaining in official receivership.