Aston Martin May Sell Stake in Formula 1 Racing Team and Go Private in Turnaround Efforts
Despite coming up with some compelling vehicles in recent years, Aston Martin has continued to struggle financially, leading it to some tough decisions as it plots a path forward. Among other efforts, the storied British automaker reportedly plans to sell its stake in its Formula 1 racing team, and some expect the company to delist itself from the London Stock Exchange.
Aston only owns 4.6 percent of the racing team, but the sale would raise $146 million for the company, which desperately needs cash. The automaker cited tariffs and a slowdown in China for its struggles, saying it would only break even this year, which caused a drop in its share prices. The company's stock market valuation has dropped from almost $6 billion in late 2018 to just over $1 billion today. That said, the F1 team sale valued the company at $3.2 billion.
While Aston Martin won't have a stake in the F1 team after the sale, it will continue a relationship with the sport through naming and branding agreements, so we won't see a change on the grid. The automaker's car lineup is one of the most compelling in its history, so there are reasons for Aston to be encouraged. Its first SUV, the DBX has grown to account for almost half of its sales, and other new models have received stellar reviews from customers and critics.
2025 Aston Martin DBX 707 —
Source: Kyle Edward
Lawrence Stroll acquired the Force India F1 team in 2018 and transformed it into the Aston team we know today. Stroll and his partners have continue investing in the business, but many credit Netflix's Drive to Survive with bringing the sport's value to an all-time high.
About the Author
Chris Teague View Profile
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Charity watchdog's five-year fight for the truth about Aspinall Foundation
Leaving Number 10 in disgrace after the Partygate scandal three years ago has not stopped Boris Johnson getting rich ever since. He has earned millions from books and lecture tours, enough to buy a £4m Oxfordshire manor house for him, wife Carrie and their children. It was a different story when the couple were in Downing Street in January 2021 before the Partygate antics surfaced. They were in desperate need of money after Mr Johnson's expensive divorce – and what became known as the 'wallpapergate' affair – left their finances in tatters. He was criticised after failing to disclose secret Tory funding for a lavish refurbishment of their Downing Street flat by interior designer Lulu Lytle. It was at this moment that the couple received a much-needed – and timely – cash injection. Carrie Johnson, or Carrie Symonds, Mr Johnson's fiancee as she then was, was hired by the Aspinall Foundation wildlife conservation charity as director of communications on an estimated 'high five-figure salary'. Just two months after Mr Aspinall signed Ms Johnson, hailing her as a 'huge asset', she had to defend it when it was hit by a potential scandal. It emerged that the Charity Commission had opened a 'regulatory compliance case' investigation into the Aspinall Foundation in 2020. The matters being investigated by the watchdog pre-dated Ms Johnson's arrival at the charity and there is no suggestion she was the subject of investigation. She played down the gravity of the situation, saying such action was 'commonplace during routine regulatory checks'. However, any notion that it was commonplace was blown out of the water weeks later. Then, in March 2022, the commission announced a statutory inquiry – its most serious form of investigation – into the Aspinall Foundation and its sister charity Howletts Wild Animal Trust. It was looking into 'serious concerns about the governance and financial management after reports of possible conflicts of interest and related-party transactions' of both – while adding that the announcement was not in itself a finding of wrongdoing. Extraordinarily, five years after first sounding the alarm bell, the commission still has the Aspinall Foundation in its crosshairs. Two months ago it took its most drastic action yet, sending in troubleshooters – interim managers – to the foundation after 'fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation'. The Charity Commission's code of practice spells out the seriousness of this step. It states that it can appoint interim managers to act as 'receivers and managers' after a statutory inquiry – and 'if it is satisfied there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement in the charity's administration or it is necessary to protect the charity's property'. Using language akin to policing, it explains the aim is to 'detect, prevent or disrupt misconduct or mismanagement.' Misconduct is defined as 'any act that the person committing it knew – or ought to have known – was criminal, unlawful or improper'. Moreover the interim managers can take over the charity completely, excluding trustees from decision making. One of the most striking aspects of the commission's five year investigation into the Aspinall Foundation is its relentlessness. It began informal enquiries in July 2020; in November 2020 it was sufficiently concerned to open a 'regulatory compliance case'; in March 2021 that became a 'statutory inquiry' – its most serious type of investigation – and now it has gone even further, sending in interim managers. The focus of the investigation has been the same throughout, flagging up concerns about 'governance; financial management; conflicts of interest; unauthorised trustee benefit; whether trustees have complied with their duties under the law.' Allegations against the Aspinall Foundation, mainly based on its accounts, include allowing trustees' chairman Mr Aspinall, 65, to rent its palatial HQ, Howletts House, for £2,500 a month; paying £150,000 to his wife, Victoria, for 'interior design'; making loans to Mr Aspinall - in 2019 he reportedly owed it £113,000, and paying £124,000 for accountancy to Alvarium, a company of which Charles Filmer, a former Aspinalls trustee was a director. Allegations against the Howletts Wild Animal Trust include paying a £30,000 a year pension to Mr Aspinall's step mother Lady Sarah Aspinall for 'gardening services'. The charity has defended itself in the past saying the payments to Victoria Aspinall were conducted 'at arms length', adding that the fees were 'subject to a rigorous benchmarking exercise to ensure the foundation received value for money'. It has said Mr Aspinall repaid all debts to the charity. The Howletts Wild Animal Trust has reportedly said previously that Lady Sarah was entitled to her £30,000 a year for 'prior service as head gardener for many years'. The Charity Commission has wide ranging powers to act against charities where wrongdoing is found. They range from removing trustees to taking over the running of the charity and winding it up completely. The leadership of the non profit-making and unconventional Aspinall Foundation has always resembled a high society charitable affair involving three generations of the casino owning Aspinalls, Brexit supporting tycoons, eccentric aristocrats, glamorous women and maverick Tories like Boris Johnson and his political and personal coterie. The foundation was created by Mr Aspinall's flamboyant father, gambling tycoon John Aspinall, in 1984. He was a close friend of fellow gambler Lord Lucan, who disappeared in 1974, and was also close to anti-EU campaigner Sir James Goldsmith, father of Zac and Ben. John Aspinall's Clermont Gambling club in London became the venue for celebrity nightclub Annabel's, opened by Mark Birley in the 1960s. Mark Birley's son, Robin, is a former trustee of the Aspinall Foundation, but his time there predates the Charity Commission's inquiries. Robin Birley, who owns the 5 Hertford St private club in Mayfair, renowned as a meeting place for wealthy Brexit supporters, gave £200,000 to Nigel Farage's UKIP party and £20,000 to Mr Johnson's successful Tory leadership campaign in 2019. Mr Birley is the half brother of Sir James Goldsmith's sons Zac and Ben who have both been trustees of the Aspinall Foundation, but also left before any inquiries were launched. Zac Goldsmith was given a peerage and ministerial post by fellow Old Etonian Mr Johnson as prime minister when he lost his Richmond, Surrey Commons seat in 2019. Shortly before becoming prime minister, Mr Johnson wrote a 1,000 word paean of praise to Mr Aspinall, commending his 'wonderful' conservation work in a Daily Telegraph article. Zac Goldsmith is also a mentor and close friend of Mrs Johnson. Her entree into the Tory Party, where she became its head of communications and met Mr Johnson, was as a young constituency campaigner for Zac Goldsmith. Ben Goldsmith was given a post on the board of the Department of the Environment – where his brother was a minister – in Mr Johnson's administration. Damian Aspinall, who like his father, once owned a casino, is reputedly worth £200 million. Mt Aspinall's daughter Tansy, whose mother Louise Sebag-Montefiire was Mr Aspinall's first wife, is a trustee of both the Aspinall Foundation and the Howletts Wild Animal Trust. It has also been suggested that the youngest of twice married Mr Aspinall's three daughters, Freya, a model and internet celebrity, could succeed him as chair of trustees at the Aspinall Foundation. Freya is the result of a separate relationship by Mr Aspinall with actress Donna Air. He also reportedly dated supermodels Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell. The Aspinall Foundation has also faced criticism for some of its conservation work. In 2014 it was claimed that some members of ten gorillas released to the wild in Africa by the charity were killed. Mr Aspinall blamed one of the gorillas for the killings.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Troubleshooters sent in at wildlife charity linked to Carrie Johnson
Troubleshooters have been sent in to investigate a charity linked to Boris Johnson 's wife following claims that its funds were used improperly by the multimillionaire socialite who runs it. The Charity Commission has appointed a team of high-powered legal experts to act as interim managers and take over key decision-making at the Aspinall Foundation, run by former casino owner Damian Aspinall. According to the watchdog's code of conduct, interim managers are imposed on a charity when it believes there has been 'mismanagement and/or misconduct'. It defines misconduct as any 'criminal, unlawful or improper' act. The Aspinall Foundation is a global conservation group that releases zoo animals back into the wild, working with its sister charity the Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which runs two wildlife parks in Kent. Both charities have been under the Charity Commission's spotlight for five years, with a statutory inquiry launched in 2021. Its latest decision to send troubleshooters into the Aspinall Foundation over 'fresh issues of concern' marks a major tightening of the screw. Carrie Johnson was recruited by the Aspinall Foundation in January 2021 in a senior communications role on an estimated 'high five-figure salary' when her partner Mr Johnson, whom she married in May that year, was prime minister. Mr Johnson has been one of the charity's highest-profile cheerleaders. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by either of the Johnsons. The allegations against the Aspinall Foundation include allowing its chair, Mr Aspinall, to rent its headquarters, Howletts House – a neo-Palladian, 30-bedroom mansion in Kent, set in a 90-acre estate – for £2,500 a month, equivalent to the typical cost of renting a large house in nearby Canterbury. The rent was increased to £10,000 a month after a revaluation. Other allegations include paying £150,000 to Mr Aspinall's wife, Victoria, for 'interior design', as well as making loans to Mr Aspinall. In 2019, he reportedly owed the foundation £113,000. Allegations made against the Howletts Wild Animal Trust include paying Mr Aspinall's step mother Lady Sarah Aspinall a £30,000-a-year pension for 'gardening services'. In a statement to The Independent, the Charity Commission said: 'Our inquiry into the Aspinall Foundation is ongoing. Towards the end of last year, fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation, and our investigators are working hard to pursue these at pace. 'The commission has now appointed interim managers to the Aspinall Foundation, who will work alongside the existing trustees on specific areas in line with the charity's governing document.' The Charity Commission only imposes interim managers on a charity 'if it is satisfied that there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement' and it is considered 'necessary to protect the charity's property'. Misconduct 'includes any act that the person committing it knew – or ought to have known – was criminal, unlawful or improper'. Mismanagement is defined as 'any act that may result in charitable resources being misused – or the people who benefit from the charity being put at risk'. The Charity Commission troubleshooters have been tasked with making any decisions that cannot be made by the trustees because of 'a conflict of interest', and with 'reviewing the make-up of the board of trustees'. Crucially, they have also been ordered to find out whether any of the trustees – or their family members – 'received a direct or indirect benefit from the charity'. Mr Aspinall's daughter Tansy is a trustee of both the Aspinall Foundation and Howletts Wild Animal Trust. Multimillionaire and Conservative peer Zac Goldsmith, a former minister and a close friend of Mr Aspinall and both the Johnsons, was an Aspinall trustee until August 2019. Lord Goldsmith's brother Ben, a Tory donor who was given an advisory post in Mr Johnson's government, was also an Aspinall Foundation trustee. Both left before the Charity Commission launched any inquiries. A spokesperson for the Aspinall Foundation said: 'We welcome the inquiry by the Charity Commission and will continue to work with them transparently, but until that has concluded we are unable to comment further to press.' A spokesperson for the Howletts Wild Animal Trust said: 'With the Charity Commission's inquiry ongoing, we are unable to comment further.' Carrie Johnson could not be contacted. The Aspinall Foundation declined to say whether she is still an employee.
Times
24 minutes ago
- Times
High taxes, a recession: my fears for young job hunters in Scotland
I started employing my latest assistant in March this year and for reliability, productivity, speed and all-round knowledge, he's hard to beat. Unfailingly polite and endlessly resourceful, he's settled into my small in-house team of seven with ease. Everyone loves him. Although he is only five months old and his background is unknown, he's already indispensable. He is, of course, one of the new autonomous artificial intelligence agents — otherwise known as agentic AI. This is one of the first publicly available AI agents capable of independent planning, decision-making and real-world task execution without requiring detailed human oversight. In beta mode and available by invitation only — codes were changing hands for $1,000 recently — it is a glimpse of a future that is awe-inspiring and terrifying in equal measure. For the time being, I'm ignoring the fact that I've had to hand over a lot of personal information to gain access (admittedly much of it already available online) and that very little is known about the Chinese start-up behind the technology. It is simply too valuable a tool and I'm already hooked. Agentic AI is turbocharging technical aspects of my business that other AI tools simply can't reach. I'm an optimist about the advent of AI. Or I should say, I'm an optimist about humanity. Such tools can, and are, being used for destructive purposes. But this is the best argument for not withdrawing from research. If the good guys slow down, they simply hand advantage to the bad actors. I understand the arguments against AI that end with humanity facing Armageddon. But mankind is perfectly capable of orchestrating its own destruction without the use of artificial intelligence. We just have to look at Gaza and Ukraine to be reminded of the depth of human depravity. Meanwhile AI is already saving lives. All progress has provoked moral panic. From the coming of the railways to Elvis wiggling his hips. And while my new AI assistant sometimes leaves me feeling like an 18th-century peasant contemplating the wonders of the internal combustion engine, I know that it is actual intelligence combined with AI that gives us the breakthroughs and competitive edge we need. While the AI assistant can code, I still need to employ my full-stack developer to implement, evaluate and interpret the results. But what is certainly true is that AI is contributing to an upcoming economic upheaval for which Scotland is wholly unprepared. A toxic combination of political decisions by the Labour government at Westminster and the SNP government in Scotland, a mental health crisis among millennials and Gen Zs and weak economic growth have the potential to tip the country into recession. This month, the accountancy firm EY reported that Scotland's high income tax rates were seen as the main barrier to expansion in Scotland's financial services industry, which contributes about 10 per cent of the Scottish economy by value. All Scottish workers earning more than £30,318 pay more income tax than their English counterparts and the highest band is set at 48 per cent for Scotland compared with 45 per cent for the rest of the UK. The job market is being squeezed from both ends. According to McKinsey & Co, the number of job vacancies online fell by 31 per cent in the three months to May, compared with the same period in 2022, the year that ChatGPT was launched. Research from KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation revealed that hiring fell in June at the fastest pace in almost two years. Sluggish growth and higher interest rates have been blamed but in occupations at entry level across all industries, including graduate traineeships and apprentices, jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate. The last apprentice I hired was unable to address an envelope and had no idea what a stamp was. She had a HNC in 'collective dance, specialising in hip-hop' and was about as prepared for the world of work as your average pigeon. She lasted three months. Somebody within the education system had let her down badly. Young people will be most seriously affected by the storm that is coming. They are also the group facing the biggest mental health crisis. In Scotland more than one million adults report that anxiety interferes with daily life. Gen Z and young millennials lose up to 60 days of productivity per year due to mental health issues compared with 36 days for older colleagues. The number of Scots out of work because of sickness and disability is at its highest level in 20 years and the number claiming disability payments in Scotland is set to almost double by 2030. Labour's plans under the Employment Rights Bill to remove the two-year qualifying period for key rights such as protection against unfair dismissal, parental leave and statutory sick pay, mean that many SMEs will not risk hiring staff without experience or a track record. That's if the SMEs stay in business. Confidence is at a low ebb. One in five small businesses believe they will be forced out of business if conditions don't improve. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, 27 per cent of business owners believe their company will downsize, be sold or close in the next 12 months. For the first time in 15 years, pessimism has outweighed optimism. Even profitable SMEs wonder if the juice is still worth the squeeze. The government is not protecting the jobs we do have. The closure of the Grangemouth refinery and the threat by bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis to move Scottish production to Scarborough could lead to 400 jobs lost in the Falkirk area. Add in jobs lost in the supply chain and the number rises to four figures. Both companies have foreign ownership, which rather dampens enthusiasm for the SNP government's boast that Scotland punches above its weight for inward investment. The Grangemouth closure and a sharp fall in manufacturing output drove a 0.4 per cent GDP decline in the three months up to May. About 80 per cent of leisure and hospitality businesses believe the Scottish economy will decline this year. John Swinney has mentioned a possible Scottish recession, blaming US tariffs. Even without a recession, growth is weak and Scottish economic activity is fragile. Even boom sectors such as renewables are facing cuts. At least one of the country's largest employers has just cut nearly all its graduate jobs for the present cohort reaching the end of their two-year training stint. Recent recessions have not brought the same level of job losses that the UK experienced in the 1990s and before. But that is set to change, and we are not prepared. This will affect a generation, already struggling post-pandemic, for most of their lives. The Scottish government has deliberately and negligently failed to promote the nation's economic wellbeing at the expense of ideology which a majority of voters do not share. As Harold Macmillan pointed out, it is 'events, dear boy' that bring down governments. But it is policy decisions that cripple countries.
