Aston Martin floats on London stock market in historic milestone for iconic brand

Aston Martin DB11

Luxury car maker Aston Martin has today listed its initial public offering (IPO) price at £19 a share, valuing the company at around £4.33bn. 

The valuation falls short of the £5.1bn Aston Martin aimed to reach when it set out an initial pricing range of £17.50 to £22.50 a share.

The company, which has a long link with James Bond films, has gone bust seven times in its 105 year history.

The listing is the first by a UK carmaker for years, following the sale of brands such as Jaguar, Bentley and Rolls-Royce to foreign owners.

The IPO will hand around £1.1bn to existing shareholders like Italian Investindustrial and Kuwaiti funds Adeem Investments and Primewagon.

Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler will keep its 4.9 per cent stake in the company.

Aston Martin may fall short of a place in the FTSE 100 when the index is reshuffled in December. The smallest company to feature on the list at the moment has a market cap of £4.7bn. 

Chief executive Andy Palmer said: Today’s listing on the London Stock Exchange represents a historic milestone for Aston Martin Lagonda.

We are delighted by the positive response we have received from investors across the world and are very pleased to welcome our new shareholders to the register. We are excited about the momentum across the company and are fully focused on continuing to deliver our exciting growth strategy through the Second Century Plan.