Timesonline -"Aston warns it may breach bank covenants"

[whit3star]

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/ind...

[cardigankid]

Not easy times, for anyone, but Aston have been through a lot worse before. In the perspective of time however, I believe that this will be seen as a fantastic time to get a deal on a car, and this headline can only help from that point of view.

[Zod]

Trying to find a company that is not at risk of breaching bank covenants is the difficult thing to do at the moment.

[Ipelm]

I hope Dave Richards is not going to end up like Tom Walkinshaw and find himself in a position where he has expanded hugely into an area of business where he may not quite have either the backing or the where with all to maintain a sustainable position?

[Hitch78]

Ipelm said:

I hope Dave Richards is not going to end up like Tom Walkinshaw and find himself in a position where he has expanded hugely into an area of business where he may not quite have either the backing or the where with all to maintain a sustainable position?

Isn't his deal funded by some rich middle easternites?

[whit3star]

Hitch78 said:

Ipelm said:

I hope Dave Richards is not going to end up like Tom Walkinshaw and find himself in a position where he has expanded hugely into an area of business where he may not quite have either the backing or the where with all to maintain a sustainable position?

Isn't his deal funded by some rich middle easternites?

Yes, but there's got to be a point when they will stop investing more money in the company if they are only getting little or no return (?)..

[lambogenie]

well given that the "rich middle easterns" are having to BORROW 1BN to refinance their own investments, and may be forced to sell a 20 percent stake in Aston, one could consider they arent quite as rich as they make out. Most of the big dubailists expansion has been based on borrowing money against the notional future value of the oil they pump out of the ground, given that oil prices have now collapsed its easy to see how they aren't meeting their own interest repayments etc.

[Kickstart]

BBC reports that AM have now dropped down to 3 day week

[cardigankid]

What do you do if you are Aston Martin?

1. Not flood the market with cars - you will only kill the demand for years to come, affect the exclusivity and be hit by the law of diminishing returns.
2. Cut costs - absolutely - but the maintenance of their core skills is critical
3. Keep promoting and developing to maintain interest and project a positive image - this could also be essential in Government support schemes
4. Cut production
5. Diversify into other areas of sales and service
6. Sell cars to people who would not normally be in the market for an Aston. People who already have one for example. A DB9 Coupe owner might appreciate a fabulous deal on a V8V Roadster.

I think that they are onto most of the above and believe therefore that they are doing exactly the right thing.