Aston Martin gets £150m investment bundle

The future of Aston Martin looks more assured thanks to an injection of £150million from European investment group Investindustrial.
After weeks of rumour, Aston Martin has verified that London-based Investindustrial (which was just recently part of the group that offered bike manufacturer Ducati to Audi) will take a 37.5 per cent stake in the business – the staying 62.5 per cent is held by Kuwaiti investors, led by The investment Dar.
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Aston chairman David Richards said: “Investindustrial’s new investment shows as well as sustains the unique setting of Aston Martin within the industry. With this partnership as well as the continued commitment of The investment Dar, we look ahead to working with our shareholders as we realise our vision as well as interesting future plans.”
The offer will allow Aston to plough half a billion pounds into the advancement of much-needed new designs – recent figures have shown a decrease in sales by 20 per cent.
Aston has just recently introduced the new Vanquish as well as revised DB9, while a new Rapide is expected to show up in the early part of next year as well as a Vanquish Volante likewise expected before the end of 2013.
However, the additional funds are expected to be utilized to further establish the company’s VH platform architecture, in addition to a new variety of more efficient, smaller capability engines that will much better allow the British brand to contend with the likes of Porsche as well as Bentley.
Meanwhile, business insiders have hinted that advancement of a new Lagonda design – as previewed by an SUV idea at the Geneva motor show in 2009 – is continuing, although we don’t expect to see a new Aston Martin Lagonda before 2015.