Aston Martin to go public with £5bn flotation on London Stock Exchange

Aston Martin is gearing up to go public with a £5bn float on the London Stock Exchange within the next few weeks.

The British luxury carmaker has confirmed that it has “started the floatation process” and aims to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on 20 September, Auto Express reports. 

The company’s existing investors will sell off a portion of their stock in the IPO, putting about 25% of Aston Martin’s shares on the stock exchange. Aston’s 2,700 staff members will also be given the chance to sign up for a share scheme.

According to The Guardian, company bosses hope that the stock market floatation will help double the firm’s vehicle production, to 14,000 examples a year.

The Warwickshire-based carmaker sold 5,098 vehicles in 2017, its highest number in nine years, as demand for luxury products from “super-rich car enthusiasts” increases, the newspaper reports. 

Pundits had been betting “for several years” that Aston Martin would go public, following the appointment of company chief executive Andy Palmer in late 2014, says The Daily Telegraph.

Palmer’s push for a “revamped product line-up”, which includes the radical new Vantage and DBS Superleggera, has “overhauled the business” and helped the company turn a profit “after years of losses”, the newspaper continues. 

The ambitious boss said that the flotation will mark “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”.