After Aston Martin deal, will Saudi investments’ pace ‎accelerate in Britain?‎

When it was announced last month that British carmaker Aston Martin had partnered with California-based Lucid Motors to develop a range of electric cars, it was seen as James Bond’s favorite car brand joining the high-tech group in Silicon Valley.

The British website “This Is Money” indicated in its review of the deal that Lucid is majority owned by the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth arm of the Saudi state, and is responsible for directing billions of money to projects and companies around the world, and according to estimates, the Public Investment Fund It manages assets worth more than 500 billion pounds sterling

The site noted that the Public Investment Fund is also the second largest investor in Aston Martin, with an 18% stake at £450m. Considering that it is the latest step by the Kingdom to use capital to expand its economic influence in Britain, similar to other Gulf countries.

In addition to its stake in Aston Martin, the fund is arguably the most invested in the world of sports. In 2021, it aroused interest when it bought the English Premier League football team Newcastle United from its previous owner, Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley.

British welcome:

The site suggested that it is likely that huge infrastructure projects, such as the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, will need financing from sovereign wealth funds, and British ministers have tried to woo the Gulf countries to mobilize support.

Pointing out that at the present time, there does not seem to be any indication that the flow of Saudi cash has stopped, as the country benefited from the recent rise in global oil prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A British government spokesperson said: “Saudi Arabia is our largest trading partner in the Middle East and we have a long-standing relationship based on a range of strong shared national interests, including bilateral investment. We are also working on a free trade agreement with the GCC countries, which will support the government’s priority to boost the economy, create jobs and increase wages.

Along with the private investment of the Saudi state, Saudi investors, like many of their counterparts in Gulf countries such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are becoming increasingly interested in the lucrative real estate market in the United Kingdom, according to the site.