Aston Martin’s new manufacturing facility at St Athan in Wales has received the green light following the completion of talks to purchase land with the Welsh authorities.

Aston Martin president and chief executive Dr Andy Palmer met Welsh First Minister, Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AM to finalise the sale of the St Athan site to the British luxury carmaker this week.

The facility is scheduled to begin construction of the British premium brand’s new SUV model in 2019.

Palmer said: “The exchanging of this contract, giving us first access to the St Athan facility, is a milestone in our 103-year history. Work now starts in earnest to turn our plans into reality.

“Since taking the decision to build our first SUV in Wales we have been impressed with the commitment and approach from both the MOD and the Welsh Government in making this project work.

“We continue to work with the Welsh Government in areas like recruitment to ensure we are able to meet our project timescales.”

Aston Martin is said to have chosen St Athan after evaluating 20 potential locations for the new manufacturing facility across the globe.

It will be the manufacturer’s second manufacturing facility – including its Gaydon headquarters – and comes as part of a £200m investment in new products and facilities.

A recruitment drive this summer began the search for up to 750 new Aston Martin employees who will work at the new facility, a number of whom have already begun their training, building the new DB11 at Gaydon.

With contracts now exchanged, Aston Martin has now commenced work on ‘Phase I’ of the St Athan site which includes the creation of the customer and staff reception areas, administration and management offices and the employee restaurant.

The contract for these works was awarded to local Welsh firm TRJ Contracting.

‘Phase II’ will commence in April 2017 when Aston Martin will gain access to the three Ministry of Defence ‘Super Hangars’ that will house the new manufacturing facility.

First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones said: “We are delighted that Aston Martin has chosen to locate its new manufacturing facility here in Wales. The move is fantastic news for the Vale of Glamorgan and surrounding areas, and will provide a real boost to the local economy, resulting in thousands of high quality jobs both within Aston Martin and the wider supply chain.”