25% share in Aston to be floated
LUXURY sports car firm Aston Martin is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange in a move which could value the company as high as £5 billion.
The Warwickshire manufacturer said it was “announcing its potential intention to undertake an initial public offering”, ending months of speculation about its plans to go public.
Gaydon-based Aston Martin will float at least 25 per cent of its shares in the listing if the plans go ahead but no date has been announced for when the company is likely to start trading on the stock exchange.
The announcement was made alongside the company’s half-year financial results, which showed pretax profits edging higher to £20.8 million over the six months to June 30, from £20.3 million during the same period last year.
Revenue rose by eight per from £410.3 million to £444.9 lion.
Aston Martin cent mil- said the jump was driven by its consulting business and increased revenue from sales of its special edition vehicles including the Vanquish Zagato family and DB4 GT Continuation models.
But the company logged a slight drop in wholesale volumes, from 2,439 in the first half of 2017 to 2,299 units in the first six months of 2018, which Aston Martin said was due to new models line.
Chief executive Andy Palmer said: “This announcement represents a key milestone in the history of the company which is reporting strong financial results and increased global demand for its award-winning sports cars. As we continue to execute our Second Century Plan, com- hitting the production bining a product offensive and expanding manufacturing footprint, we have the resources and balance sheet strength to continue delivering on our growth strategy.
“These results show that we have continued to deliver sustainable growth, margins and value for our shareholders while launching three new models and variants.”