Related Articles
The 79-year-old is also the largest shareholder in Liberty Media, which bought Formula One from buy-out fund CVC for £6.4bn four years ago.
Drivers and investors may have been forthcoming, but keeping Extreme E on track has still proven a prodigious task. Companies have been shielding their cash to protect themselves from the economic fallout of the Covid crisis, making sponsorships hard to come by.
Then there are the logistical snags posed by Brexit. Extreme E’s teams were forced to shift their cars to Liverpool from Germany and France ahead of St Helena’s departure.
With the dust barely settled on Britain’s exit from the European bloc, delays were inevitable. “The trucks have taken longer to go through the tunnel – it’s a headache” he says.
Despite the sticking points, Agag is sanguine about the future.
He says Extreme E could turn a profit in its second season and already has “very significant revenues” after signing broadcasting deals with the BBC, Sky Sports and ESPN.
Plans are also under way to develop a spin-off video game on the series.
With no spectators irrespective of the pandemic, costs are leaner than its counterparts, which need grandstands and infrastructure to control the fans.
Perhaps that is why Extreme E is attracting interest from American special acquisition companies, the in-vogue vehicle used by investors to reverse firms on to a stock exchange. “These Spacs are focused on impact investment and sustainability. Those investments are going in our direction so that is what sparks the interest,” says Agag.
He is open to a more traditional listing, or a part-sale to private equity, but has no plans for a quick exit.
“Going around the planet on this ship exploring these locations is something I have been excited about for many years, so my plan is not to sell and stop being a part of it.”
The father-of-four, who lives in Richmond, is under no illusion how disruptive the pandemic could be.
Contingency plans are in place should a Covid outbreak on St Helena force him to cancel races.
“If there is an outbreak and we cannot race, then we will just skip and go to the next location,” Agag adds.
With vaccine rollout gathering pace around the world, Agag will be hopeful that Extreme E can emerge unscathed.
Perhaps he will just get lucky – it wouldn’t be the first time.
