Aston Martin revs up for London listing

Aston Martin is expected to confirm plans to list on the London Stock Exchange when it announces annual results on Wednesday morning.

The British sports car maker said earlier this year it was considering making its shares available to the public or looking for a buyer.

It is understood the company will seek to sell a stake worth about £1bn, valuing it at between £4bn and £5bn.

Aston Martin sold 5,000 cars last year making its first profit since 2010.

Its main shareholders, Italian private equity fund Investindustrial and a group of Kuwaiti investors, hired an investment bank to advise on options at the start of the year.

Under Andy Palmer, who left Nissan to become chief executive in 2014, Aston Martin's fortunes have been revived with the flagship DB11 coupe proving popular with buyers.

His turnaround plan have involved broadening the model range to include its first SUV, which goes into production next year.

The new models are expected to increase output "significantly" above 5,000 cars this year, Mr Palmer said.

Nissan had considered buying Aston Martin before Mr Palmer was convinced to run one of the most famous marques in motoring, but one that had been in a slow demise.

"Aston Martin has always relied on someone stepping in and injecting some more cash and saving it, but that's not the legacy I want to leave," Mr Palmer told the BBC in 2015.

Part of his strategy involves targeting female buyers - no easy task given the company has sold fewer than 4,000 cars to women in its 105-year history.

"Aston Martin must be less dependent on a narrow portfolio and one type of customer," Mr Palmer said.

It hopes to emulate the success of Italian luxury sports car rival Ferrari, which floated in New York almost three years ago.

Shares were priced at $52 and for the past two years have continued to climb, reaching almost $150 in June.

They were trading at just under $130 on Tuesday, valuing the company at about $24bn.