Kuwaiti investor takes 40% stake in UK's Prodrive

Kuwaiti investment firm, The Investment Dar (TID), has taken a 40% stake in Prodrive, the UK motorsports and technology company announced today. The investment is the culmination of a year's worth of planning and talks that identified the benefits of the buy-in to both TID and Prodrive.

“Our business is ultimately about helping our customers to sell cars, not only their current models, but future products as well. I see a great opportunity to expand our current work developing the new generation of environmental technologies such as hybrid cars, hydrogen fuel cells and variable compression ratio engines. With our unique motorsport approach, we can rapidly take these technologies from concept to reality," said David Richards, chairman of Prodrive.

TID's involvement with Prodrive and Aston Martin has been ongoing since 2007, when Richards led a consortium of investors, including TID, to purchase Aston Martin from Ford. That close relationship led to the current tie-up with Prodrive.

"They very much share our vision for the business and the passion for what we do. With their experience and understanding of the motor industry, they will play a significant role in the long term development of the business," said Richards.

Prodrive is involved in many diverse products, including special edition models, new technology and tuning parts in addition to its motorsports programs.