hares in Aston Martin, the luxury carmaker famed for its role in the James Bond films, went on a twisting run on Friday after taking a hit from concerns that the company was in need of a capital injection.
Having ended the previous session down 8%, the stock recovered to rise by 3% at one point in morning trade, only for the gains to fade. It was down by 2.2% overall for the day in afternoon exchanges, taking it to 432.2p.
The falls came after a series of media reports that the indebted group could be the latest famous UK name to raise funds from investors in the middle east.
The reports suggested that the company is considering a share sale to raise capital of up to £200 million, with the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund named by the Financial Times and Sky News as being in early talks about taking such a stake.
Autocar magazine — which first reported Aston’s potential fundraising and also cited Saudi interest – also linked an un-named investment fund based on the west coast of the US as a second potential investor.
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How the Met Police is supporting and listening to its officersIn a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange after the reports, Aston Martin said that it “regularly keeps its funding options under review” and “any funding option, if explored and executed, would be to support and accelerate the company’s future growth.”
Famed for providing many of the cars in the James Bond films, Aston Martin’s sales were hit during the pandemic just as it faces rising development costs as it moves into electric vehicles. The business already carries a high level of debt.
Its statement described order books as “robust”, adding that they “have strengthened further in recent months, with sports cars sold out into 2023.”
