Further information about the background to the Williams flotation is leaking out and thanks to Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt we have the latest details right here.

If a company wants to float it has to disclose a huge amount of financial information and the first details which have trickled out relate to who will be providing the shares which will be floated.

In a press release on Friday Williams revealed that 27.39% of its shares will be floated on the Frankfurt stock exchange with trading to begin on 2 March. The team's co-founders Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head currently own 63% and 27% of the business respectively with 10% in the hands of former Sports car driver Christian Wolff.

So, who will be giving up the 27.39%?

According to one of the bankers involved with the float preparations, the majority of the floated shares will come from 64 year-old Patrick Head who wants to retire at the end of this year. It all becomes clear.

In 2009, Head sold 3% of his shares to Wolff and a float could give him a well-timed payout before retirement. However, it would leave the team without Head as its engineering director which could have a significant effect on its race performance. Given that the race performance could affect the share value in the short and long term one would have thought that Williams would want to confirm directly who is providing the shares which will be floated and why.

At least we know now.