Aston Martin results set to trigger flotation
SPECULATION is growing that Aston Martin will finally announce its widely expected flotation today when the sports car manufacturer reveals interim results.
The maker of vehicles favoured by James Bond has been positioning for a public offering for several years under Andy Palmer, the chief executive, who has overhauled the business with a revamped product line-up and returned it to profit after years of losses.
Warwickshire-based Aston is thought to be targeting a valuation of up to £5bn in an autumn flotation that will see about a fifth of the company sold by existing investors, according to reports from Sky News.
A notice of the company’s intention to list in London could come as soon as this week, as Aston’s private equity owners cash in on the turnaround of the constructor of the high-performance car.
The main shareholders are Italy’s Investindustrial, along with Gulf-based Tejara and Adeem. German automotive giant Daimler also holds a 5pc stake.
In February the company reported its best-ever financial results with revenue of £876m, up 48pc on the last time round, and car sales 58pc higher at 5,117. Pre-tax profit was £87m, reversing the £163m loss of the previous year. Mr Palmer, who joined from Nissan in 2014, has steered Aston back into the black with his “Second Century” plan for the 105-year-old business.
This has involved not only new models and development of the company’s first hybrid-electric vehicle and an SUV, which will be built at a new factory in Wales, but also financial measures such as writedowns on older models and equipment in a move the chief executive described as “cleaning up the balance sheet”.
Announcing the results in February, Mr Palmer said Aston was considering a public listing to raise capital and hinted that the company was looking at how to leverage the partnerships it has with major manufacturers so it can maintain its position at the forefront of the car industry.
Development of electric vehicles and self-driving technology is hugely expensive and a relative minnow in the car world, such as Aston, would struggle to finance these alone.
A swathe of banks are reported to have been hired to organise the flotation, with lead roles for Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, supported by Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Unicredit.