Aston Martin to sell F1 team stake as billionaire Stroll invests more cash
Aston Martin has said it plans to sell its minority stake in the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One team as part of efforts to boost its finances.
It also confirmed that Lawrence Stroll’s Yew Tree Consortium is planning to invest a further £52.5 million into the luxury car manufacturer to grow its shareholding.
Mr Stroll is the majority owner of the Aston Martin Aramco F1 team, where his son Lance Stroll is a driver.
Aston Martin said the two deals are expected to improve the group’s liquidity by more than £125 million.
The London-listed company said it expects to secure more than £74 million from the sale of its stake in F1 team, adding that its long-term sponsorship deal will not be affected.
Meanwhile, it also announced that Mr Stroll’s investment vehicle will buy 75 million new shares in Aston Martin, to grow its stake to 33%.
The company said it is seeking a waiver on takeover rules which typically forces an investor with a stake of 30% or higher in a company to make a cash offer for the entire business.
It will become the latest major cash injection from Canadian billionaire Mr Stroll since first buying a stake in the company in 2020.
Mr Stroll, who is also executive chairman of Aston Martin, said: “This proposed investment further underscores my conviction in this extraordinary brand, and commitment to ensuring Aston Martin has the strongest possible platform for creating long-term value while reducing equity dilution via this premium subscription, which should greatly reassure shareholders, as I again increase my long-term ownership in the company.
“Now five years into Aston Martin’s transformation, I remain highly confident about the company’s medium-term prospects having re-positioned the company as one of the most desirable ultra-luxury high performance automotive brands.
“The coming years will be pivotal in realising our vision and ambition.”
This renewed support from Lawrence and his Yew Tree Consortium partners underlines their immense confidence in our team and the future of the company. We are committed to demonstrating that our strategy delivers long-term growth
Shares ticked higher as a result on Monday morning but are still around a third lower for the year.
The company reduced its profit target earlier this year amid efforts by recently-appointed chief executive Adrian Hallmark to improve the firm’s finances.
Last month, Aston Martin said it would cut around 170 jobs, or 5% of its workforce, to help return it to profit.
On Monday, the group said it expects “modest growth” in sale volumes this year amid pressure from US President Donald Trump’s new tariff regime on international car manufacturers.
Mr Hallmark added: “This renewed support from Lawrence and his Yew Tree Consortium partners underlines their immense confidence in our team and the future of the company.
“We are committed to demonstrating that our strategy delivers long-term growth.
“By strengthening the balance sheet, this investment provides additional headroom to support our future product innovation and business transformation activities, which combined, will accelerate our progress into being a sustainably profitable company.”