There are plenty of people who dream of buying an Aston Martin. This week David Richards, the UK motor sport entrepreneur, went one better when he bought Aston Martin.
As head of the consortium that took over ownership of the famous car marque from Ford, Richards was hailed as the man who brought Aston Martin back into British ownership.
It’s possible to quibble and point out that much of the money behind the £480m deal is from Kuwait, but what matters is that Aston Martin’s future will be decided in Warwickshire rather than the Ford boardroom in the US.
Not that Aston Martin did badly under the US giant’s ownership. Indeed, it appears to be one of the more desirable properties in a global car industry littered with struggling brands.
Beloved of James Bond in fiction and Premier League footballers in fact, Aston Martin is set to follow the money by opening dealerships in Russia and China.
With design and production based in the UK, Aston Martin looks like the type of business we want around the place.
Its list of virtues are considerable. It is based in the UK but attracts investment from around the world. It sells a technology-rich, premium-brand product to people with plenty of money to spend. It will provide highly skilled, high-value jobs to the West Midlands. And Bond drives one. What more could you ask?
All in all, we should wish Aston Martin the best of luck under its new ownership.
Andrew Lee
Editor
The Engineer & The Engineer Online
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