Last Updated September 29, 2008
Aston Martin shifts Islamic finance up a gear
Racing driver and entrepreneur David Richards has been working in motorsports for 30 years, winning world rallies as a driver, running rally and Formula One teams as a manager, and setting up and managing companies as an entrepreneur. He is a pioneer in bringing motorsports to the Middle East, having set up the first ever rally series in the Middle East when he was just 25.
Last year, David Richards leveraged his contacts in the Middle East to put together a consortium, including two Kuwaiti investors, to buy Aston Martin from Ford, in one of the first ever Islamic finance LBOs. He says he plans to put together another such consortium to buy a Formula One team in the near future.
