Tickford engaged Sydney-based Prime Financial Group late last year to seek fresh investment for the company, which runs two full-time cars in the Supercars Championship and four in Super2.
The Tickford business also includes an engineering arm, Tickford Engineering, for which it has spruiked significant growth potential since it was launched in 2023.
Tickford is owned by former racer turned team boss Rod Nash and lawyer Sven Burchartz.
There are claims that Prime has now lined up new players to enter the ownership mix, although Tickford CEO Simon Brookhouse denies any deals are done.
“We’re open to a number of different scenarios but nothing is real,” Brookhouse told Speedcafe. “There’s plenty of people interested but there’s nothing firmly in place.”
Gold Coast-based businessman and racing enthusiast Scott Taylor is among those to have been linked to a potential Tickford buy-in during the last 12 months.
Taylor currently funds Nash Morris’ Tickford Super2 entry and has become a regular visitor to the team’s Melbourne workshop this year, sparking fresh talk he could be making a bid.
Although aware of the rumours, Taylor – who made a fortune in the fleet leasing industry – told Speedcafe he’s not in discussions to purchase a slice of Tickford.
“The truth of it is my focus is to get Nash into the main game. Nash drives a Tickford car and I heavily sponsor Nash to do that,” said Taylor.
“As part of that deal, I’m there [at the workshop] because I transport Nash’s car and another Tickford car around to all the meetings.
“I’ve heard they are seeking equity partners in there, but it’s not me. I’m not buying any part of Tickford. I’m a customer of Tickford.
“[Co-owning a team] is just not the model for me at the moment. That’s not to say it won’t be one day, but I can tell you in 2025 it’s not.”
Tickford Racing’s Supercars Championship entries are driven by Cam Waters and Thomas Randle, who are both expected to remain with the team next year.
Waters is believed to have spurned advances from multiple entities, including General Motors, to remain loyal to the squad he has been a part of since 2014.
Driving the Monster Energy-backed entry since his main game graduation in 2016, the 30-year-old is undoubtedly one of the category’s star drivers and a major asset.
Tickford’s Super2 squad is meanwhile on a high, with rising star Rylan Gray leading the team to a 1-2-3 finish in the recent Symmons Plains round result.
The Tickford Supercars team traces its roots back to 2003 when it was established under the Ford Performance Racing name by British motorsport giant Prodrive.
The David Richards-run Prodrive created FPR through a buyout of Glenn Seton Racing, giving a racing presence to the Ford Performance Vehicles road car venture it co-owned with Ford.
Prodrive offloaded the team to Nash and Rusty French in late 2012 amid the impending demise of FPV. The duo was later joined by Burchartz in the ownership mix.
The team traded as Prodrive Racing Australia from 2015 following the withdrawal of Ford factory backing before adopting its current Tickford Racing moniker in 2018.
French departed the Tickford ownership group in early 2022.
The team underwent significant change ahead of the 2024 season with the departure of long-time chief Tim Edwards and a slimming down from four to two Supercars Championship entries.
Investment banker turned sporting administrator Brookhouse was hired as CEO in February of 2024, tasked with growing the overall business and attracting fresh funding.
“One of the reasons I was brought in was to look at how we can commercialise the overall business, not just the race team,” Brookhouse told Speedcafe last November.
“One of the things I identified pretty early on is the engineering part of the business has a lot of opportunity for growth, but to be able to do that there’s a necessity to raise some capital.
“We’re simply seeking some investment to allow us to continue to grow and build on that side of the business, which ultimately fuels the cash flow for the racing team.”
Brookhouse noted at the time that as much as 100 percent of the company could be sold.
“I’d say that’s unlikely, but you never know if the right amount of money comes along,” he said.
Big ticket items on the agenda at Tickford include establishing a new workshop, with the team having flagged an intention to depart its long-time Campbellfield home once its current lease ends.
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