Aston Martin’s major shareholder is looking to sell a 20% stake in the company to help refinance debt. Kuwait’s Investment Dar said on Sunday it was considering offers to sell up to 20% of the British carmaker and is understood to also be looking to borrow $1billion to help balance the books.

The Islamic investment company bought half of Aston last year but executive vice-president Amr Abou El-Seoud said it is now looking to sell a 10 to 20% stake. They have said that they have had offers and are in talks at the moment but the (sale) should be value-added whether financially or technically.

Seoud did not identify any possible buyers but revealed that shares could be sold to the public within three to five years. Aston, like many carmakers, has been hit hard by the recent economic downturn and said earlier this month it would cut 600 jobs in the UK.