Bond car will f loat...on the stock market

FANS of Aston Martin are to get the chance to buy a stake in the famous sports car company. The firm, famously associated with the James Bond films, will announce today that it is joining the London Stock Exchange.

It will float 20 per cent of the company to investors for around £1billion, valuing it at £5billion. The move is likely to be seen as a vote of confidence in the City’s markets ahead of Brexit.

Aston Martin customers will get stock as part of the deal, as will its staff. The float will be announced as the company posts its financial results for the first half of 2018. According to Sky News, these will show a healthy performance. The business had a record year in 2017 with revenues of £876million.

Aston Martin is owned by Italian firm Investindustrial and Kuwait’s Investment Dar, while Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler also has a small stake.

Shares in the company are expected to start trading before the end of this year. Seven investment banks have been lined up to handle the process.

Like many other manufacturers, Aston Martin has been helped by the post- Brexit drop in the value of the pound, which has made British goods much cheaper for overseas buyers.

The manufacturer is hoping to thrive by embracing the shift away from fossil fuels. It is reviving its Lagonda range as all-electric cars, and has pledged that all its models will be either hybrids or fully electric by 2025.

A move is also under way to enter the SUV market with a model, the DBX, due on sale from 2020. Aston Martin, based at Gaydon, Warwickshire, employs more than 2,700 staff and sells cars in 53 countries including China, where it is opening ten more showrooms.