The former rally driver who liked Aston Martins so much he bought the company

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

By Michael Harrison

Although Mr Richards (or DR to his colleagues) will become non-executive chairman of Aston Martin, its legions of admiring fans should not run away with the idea that the marque is finally back under British control after a break lasting more than three decades. The money to finance the deal has come from two Kuwaiti investment funds which will between them own a majority stake in Aston Martin, adding it to a stable of British trophy assets that already includes the Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane.

Nevertheless, the deal was warmly welcomed by Aston Martin drivers and trades unions alike, providing as it does an owner seemingly happy to respect the tradition of the brand and invest in its future. Kuwait's Investment Dar and Adeem Investment funds have more than $5bn (£2.5bn) of assets under management between them. The other member of the consortium is John Sinders, a Texan banker and Aston Martin enthusiast.

The Richards consortium is at least Aston Martin's sixth owner in a chequered history that stretches back nearly a century. It was founded in 1914 by Lionel Martin. But perhaps its most famous owner was the tractor manufacturer David Brown, who bought the business in 1947 and lent his initials to some of the most famous Aston Martins to grace the roads, including the DB5 driven by Sean Connery in the 1964 James Bond movie, Goldfinger. Mr Brown sold up in 1972, whereupon the brand drifted into the wilderness before being revived in the early 1980s by Victor Gauntlett, who bought it with the backing of a Greek shipping family. He, in turn, sold out to Ford in 1987.

Mr Richards is all too aware of the company's sometimes inglorious past. He recounts the tale of how an American enthusiast came over to the UK in the 1970s, by which time the company had fallen into receivership, to buy a couple of cars only to find the doors of its factory in Newport Pagnell padlocked. He persuaded the receivers to re-open the production line just long enough to fulfil the order before the doors were locked again.

Thirty years on and Aston Martin is thriving once more, making an operating profit of about £40m a year. The company is producing more cars than at any time in its history, so much so that its new manufacturing facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire, is running at virtually full capacity, making more than 7,000 cars last year.

The current model line-up ranging from the V8 Vantage to the DB9 is about to be joined by the DBS, the car driven by Daniel Craig in the latest Bond movie, and the Rapide, a four-door concept car. In 2006, Aston Martin was voted the coolest brand in Britain by the Superbrands organisation. And yet Mr Richards believes this is only just the start. "Aston Martin has gone from being a cottage industry to a major global player in the past decade but I believe its true potential is yet to come," he says.

Mr Richards left professional rallying in 1981, ending his career by co-driving Ari Vatanen to the World Rally Championship that year. Three years later he formed the motorsport company Prodrive, which is today a £120m business employing more than 1,000 people worldwide. Prodrive has won six World Rally titles with Subaru and five British Touring Car Championships with BMW, Alfa Romeo and Ford. In addition, Mr Richards has run two Grand Prix teams for Benetton and BAR Honda, qualified as an entrant for the 2008 Formula One Championship and taken Aston Martin back into the world sports car series.

Quite how he now comes to own the car company is down to a matter of chance. A few years ago Mr Richards bumped into John Sinders and exchanged business cards. The two men thought no more about it until Ford announced in August last year that it had decided to explore its "strategic options" with regard to Aston Martin - corporate speak for putting the business up for sale. Mr Sinders arranged to meet Mr Richards for dinner in Stratford-upon-Avon. Although the Texan banker's speciality was shipping, he said that if he could round up a group of investors willing to buy Aston Martin, would Mr Richards agree to front the bid?

Along the way, The Richards consortium has seen off rival bidders including Australia's James Packer (the son of Kerry), the Syrian property tycoon Simon Halabi and the private equity group Doughty Hanson, which is thought to have offered Ford about £400m.

Mr Richards has assured his chief executive, Ulrich Bez, that the funds will be forthcoming to match his ambition. "If it looks right and it sounds right, then I'm sure Ulrich will get the support he needs." That will also be music to the ears of the brand's loyal fan club.