Aston chief feels heat over share price fall

(Palmer cashed in millions BEFORE the crash)

THE boss of Aston Martin made millions selling stock in the ailing car maker that would be worth just a fraction of that sum now. Andy Palmer (pictured) cashed in £35.6m worth of shares in the firm – whose cars feature in a string of James Bond films – when it listed at 1900p last October.

But the company’s share price has plunged 69pc to just 568p since then amid a slew of disappointing updates, including a shock warning earlier this month that it will sell fewer cars this year than it first thought.

The revenue alert sent the share price tumbling by a further 26pc in one day after it said it only expects to sell 6,300 to 6,500 cars this year, down from 7,100 to 7,300 it forecast in February.

Palmer banked £6.6m worth of the proceeds he made during the float last October, while the remaining £29m went towards paying his tax and national insurance. With the tumble in Aston Martin’s share price, his £6.6m would be worth just £2m today. The company’s market value has plunged from £4.3bn when it went public to £1.3bn – meaning it has lost £14m every working day during its lifetime as a listed firm.

Palmer faces scrutiny when the 106-year-old firm reports its firsthalf results today. Investors will want to know whether his ‘Second Century Plan’ to release seven new cars over seven years is still tenable.

Palmer, 56, was awarded 1.4pc of the shares when the firm went public as a reward for turning it around after he joined 2014. This was worth £62m at the 1900p listing price. Under the float arrangements the remaining £26m of stock – 1.39m shares – will be released in equal chunks over a four-year period. But these are worth just £8m at today’s prices.

Palmer will still receive an extra £2m a year between now and 2023 on top of his pay packet, which was £3m last year.

He can bag yearly pay of £6m if he meets performance conditions – though this would entail the share price rising by 50pc, which is unlikely this year. Palmer owns around 0.6pc of Aston, a stake which is now valued at £8.2m.

Aston Martin has gone bust a number of times, and though Palmer was praised for revitalising the brand before the float, the performance has fallen far below the City’s expectations since. It swung to a £68.2m loss in 2018, partly because of £136m of costs related to the float.

And it has been hamstrung by falling demand in Europe, as well as production delays that meant many retailers received too many cars at the end of last year.