Stay informed with free updates
Simply sign up to the Automobiles myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.
Members of a creditor group owed £1.3bn by Aston Martin have filed for discovery to obtain information about a contentious £550mn financing deal involving BlackRock-backed private credit firm HPS, as they prepare for legal action against the luxury car maker.
Aston Martin announced in July that it had agreed to borrow up to £550mn from investors led by HPS. The transaction stripped some of the company’s most valuable assets away from its existing creditors, causing the price of its bonds to plummet.
Creditors holding the debt — including London-based hedge funds Arini Capital Management and Tresidor Investment Management — have since threatened to sue the company.
Arini and Tresidor filed an application to New York court on Monday evening, seeking discovery from HPS, Authentic Brands Group, Moelis and Lazard, according to US court filings.
Moelis and Lazard are advisers to Aston Martin.
If successful, the application would require the investors and advisers to disclose documents and provide testimony to be used in “a forthcoming foreign proceeding in England”, according to legal filings.
Following July’s deal with HPS, Aston Martin refused to tell creditors what specific assets had been moved out of their reach.
It also declined to reveal the details when it fielded questions from equity analysts on an earnings call. Aston Martin’s chief financial officer Doug Lafferty defended the deal as “important for the company as a whole”.
Subsequent filings on the UK’s trade mark register have since revealed that some of Aston Martin’s most valuable branding and naming rights have been transferred to a new subsidiary that now secures HPS’s lending.
Under the £550mn agreement, Aston Martin borrowed £450mn from HPS and Authentic Brands, in which HPS holds a minority stake. Another £100mn can be drawn down from HPS, if the carmaker transfers 50.1 per cent of its so-called non-automotive intellectual property to Authentic Brands.
Creditors who are trying to understand why their own offer of new money was rejected in favour of the HPS offer have begun scrutinising the relationship between the wider Aston Martin group and the private credit firm.
HPS already has ties with Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who is a significant shareholder in Aston Martin as well as its chair. In 2024, HPS acquired a significant minority stake in Aston Martin Racing, the private F1 team controlled by Stroll.
Aston Martin declined to comment.
HPS, Authentic Brands, Lazard and Moelis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
