Aston Martin declares it's time to float

Published by

Nicky Godding

Aston Martin, the iconic British automotive brand beloved of James Bond, which has its headquarters at Gaydon in Warwickshire, has confirmed that it intends to float on the London Stock Exchange.

Aston Martin Lagonda has also revealed its first-half financial results, in which the Group reported revenues up 8 per cent year-on-year to £445 million for the six months ended 30 June 2018 and a 14 per cent increase in Adjusted EBITDA to £106 million compared with £93 million in the same period of 2017.

The improved performance was primarily driven by increased revenue from sales of special edition vehicles, in particular the Vanquish Zagato family and DB4 GT Continuation models and revenue from the Aston Martin Consulting business.

Dr. Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda’s President and Chief Executive Officer, 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, combining a product offensive and expanding manufacturing footprint, we have the resources and balance sheet strength to continue delivering on our growth strategy.

“Our results show that we have continued to deliver sustainable growth, margins and value for our shareholders whilst launching three new models and variants in the first half of the year.

“Since launching the Second Century Plan in 2015, Aston Martin Lagonda has been transformed into a luxury business focused on creating the world’s most beautiful high-performance cars. This transformation has delivered significant growth in revenues, unit volumes and profitability. Our strategy is being implemented by an experienced management team that launched breakthrough new models, increased our brand value and built important partnerships in the luxury sector. This strategy, which will include the opening of a new plant at St. Athan in Wales in 2019, has seen Aston Martin Lagonda unveil models including the DBS Superleggera and the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar to widespread acclaim.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.