Aston Martin chair Lawrence Stroll has explored a deal with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to take the UK luxury carmaker private, as the struggling group seeks to raise additional funding amid expanding losses.
The discussions between the Canadian billionaire and the Public Investment Fund, which is already Aston Martin’s second-largest shareholder with a 17 per cent stake, were in the early stages, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.
Stroll led a £540mn rescue package in 2020, promising to restore Aston Martin’s place as “one of the pre-eminent luxury car brands in the world”. Despite repeated fundraising and multiple changes of leadership, the company continues to be saddled with high debt and has issued two profit warnings this year as sales declined.