McLaren is unlikely to receive a missing seven-figure sum from an ex-Formula 1 sponsor with a controversial history.
Swedish company Huski Chocolate first appeared on the rear wing of the McLarens in 2019 in a sponsorship deal that spanned three seasons, and its branding has not been featured on McLaren’s cars since 2021.
According to court documents seen by The Race, a €4.66million deal was never fully satisfied, and is now considered unlikely to ever be resolved as Huski’s parent company Choki AB entered bankruptcy at the end of January this year.
That financial situation is effectively the conclusion of a bizarre saga including the Swedish company being sued by one of its own shareholders, coming into conflict with various entities it had sponsorship agreements with, and falling into millions of pounds of debt.
Huski, primarily a hot chocolate brand for alpine ski resorts, has been associated with various sporting entities in recent years.
Its branding also appeared on Sauber’s F1 car in 2019, with the F1 team owned by Finn Rausing – the Swedish billionaire with close ties to Marcus Ericsson, who ran in Huski’s red-and-white colours for four years (2020-2023) at Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar team.
Huski also sponsored football teams in Sweden and abroad, with one of Stockholm’s biggest clubs Hammarby taking legal action like McLaren to try to claim missing payments.
Parent company Choki’s most recent annual report, seen by The Race, confirmed a net loss of 79million Swedish krona (around £6m) in 2023 alone, and admitted that “the board has worked on winding down the operations” and “during this process, several conflicts have arisen with sponsors and sponsorship agreements”.
Its 2022 accounts also confirmed that it was “involved in an ongoing dispute with its partner in the USA” – known to be ex-NASCAR backmarker and one-time IndyCar starter Stanton Barrett, who became a minority owner in Huski Americas and Choki itself, then took legal action against them to successful overturn a forced dilution of his stake.
Choki AB entering bankruptcy this year was a formality after last year’s declarations but it still means McLaren’s multi-year pursuit of its missing money is set to end without success.
Payment was owed to McLaren by December 1, 2021, but more than €1.1million was still unpaid as of May 2023.
This prompted the start of lengthy legal action by McLaren against the companies behind Huski – Choki AB and its guarantor Kvalitena AB, a real estate company, which opted not to engage or respond to communication at various junctures.
Despite the risk of a default judgement in McLaren’s favour, Kvalitena failed to submit either a confirmation of service or a statement of defence within the specified deadline.
Just over 12 months after the original lawsuit was filed, the High Court of Justice in the United Kingdom to rule in May 2024 that McLaren was still owed two amounts: €1,250,910.30, and £81,884.66.
McLaren wrote to Choki on August 9, 2024, demanding payment according to that judgement no later than August 23, but received no response. McLaren wrote to Kvalitena on October 17, but the debt remained unsettled.
Lawyers in Sweden acting on McLaren’s behalf therefore requested that the Stockholm district court ruled the UK decision be enforceable in Sweden, and to obligate Kvalitena to compensate McLaren for the additional costs incurred.
According to documents submitted by McLaren’s representation, the team has “repeatedly and over a long period of time demand payment of the unpaid debt” but “neither Choki nor Kvalitena responded, despite several reminders”.
This was agreed to, but still neither McLaren or its representatives received responses from Choki or Kvalitena, and the costs remain unsettled with Choki now in bankruptcy and millions of pounds in debt overall.
McLaren starts the 2025 season this weekend at the Australian Grand Prix as favourite after winning the constructors’ championship last year and impressing most during pre-season testing.
