Aston Martin Lagonda Limited designs, manufactures and distributes luxury sports cars. Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded Aston Martin in 1914, creating the company name by combining Lionel Martin's surname and the location of the Aston Clinton Hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire, England. Aston Martin is based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, where all cars are manufactured.
From 1994 until 2007, Aston Martin was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of Ford's Premier Automotive Group when it was formed in 2000. On 12 March 2007, a consortium of investors purchased 90% of Aston Martin for £479 million, with Ford retaining a £40 million stake. On 6 December 2012, the Italian private equity fund Investindustrial signed a deal to buy 37.5% of Aston Martin, investing £150 million as a capital increase.