Aston Martin to offload F1 stake, chairman says current valuation ‘a joke’

Aston Martin’s executive chairman believes the British marque is undervalued, and he’s not against selling off its stake in the Formula 1 team named after it to fund the road car division.

Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll bought into the luxury carmaker four years ago, having spearheaded the Yew Tree Consortium which took over Aston Martin and brought the brand back to Formula 1.

However, Mr Stroll isn’t opposed to taking the brand private and selling off its stake in the motorsport team, with the ultimate aim of raising the value of its core business.

“The company is severely undervalued and its stock market valuation of around £650 million (A$1.34 billion) is a joke,” Mr Stroll said, reported by Bloomberg.

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“Could it [going private] be something for the future? Potentially, yes. Never say never. Is it on my radar screen to do in the next fortnight? No, but never say never.”

The Yew Tree Consortium has proposed increasing its share in Aston Martin to 33 per cent – up from the current 27.7 per cent – while also investing £52.5 million (A$108.6 million) into the carmaker.

When Mr Stroll first acquired a stake in Aston Martin, he claimed 16.7 per cent after tipping in £182 million (A$376.4 million).

To increase its share, Yew Tree has proposed selling its minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula One team – of which the carmaker is not the majority owner – to partially fund the investment.

Though the size of Aston Martin’s stake in the team is undisclosed, it has said selling off its shares could generate £74 million (A$153 million).

“Today’s proposed investment, priced at a premium to the market price, and the forthcoming proposed sale of the Aston Martin F1 team shares owned by Aston Martin at a premium to book value, is expected to generate significant additional liquidity for the Group, of over £125 million,” Mr Stroll said in his investment proposal.

“With a long-term sponsorship agreement cementing the existing relationship between Aston Martin and the Aston Martin F1 team, our brand will remain present and competing at the pinnacle of motorsport for many years to come.”

The commitment to keeping the brand in Formula 1 comes as a positive sign for son Lance Stroll, who races for the team alongside two-time champion Fernando Alonso.

Last year, Aston Martin appointed Adrian Hallmark as its fourth CEO under the elder Stroll’s ownership.

“This renewed support from Lawrence and his Yew Tree Consortium partners underlines their immense confidence in our team and the future of the Company,” Mr Hallmark said in the investment proposal.

“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.”

Speaking to Automotive News last month, Mr Hallmark said he wants to be at the helm when the brand becomes sustainably profitable.

In its 112-year history, Aston Martin has never been sustainably profitable, but Mr Hallmark wants to make it so within 18 months, something he says was a key reason behind leaving Bentley.

“To be the first guy in 112 years to make Aston Martin sustainably profitable – when I believe there is a way to do so – was irresistible,” Mr Hallmark told Automotive News.

“If it doesn’t work, nothing lost. If it does, we’ve done it.”

It appears Mr Hallmark is prioritising Aston Martin’s current product portfolio over future models, having delayed its inaugural EV again.

Now due before 2030 – though without a specific date – the EV was initially scheduled for a 2025 launch, which last March was pushed back to 2026, and more recently revised to 2027.

The executive also said Aston Martin is planning to become “full electric some time between 2035 and 2040”, likely after the impending 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel cars in Europe.

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