Industry News
02 June 2016 | Industry News | thomas thomas
Greybull Capital has purchased Tata Steel’s long products business for a nominal fee of £1 to the relief of over 4,000 UK employees.
The business, which will be renamed British Steel, has “no plans to make any job reductions” according to the commercial director Peter Hogg.
Instead they will focus on following a turnaround plan which has helped the long products business return to operating profit in the last two months. Hogg has expressed confidence that British Steel will be profitable this financial year after withdrawing from plate production, closing one of their coke ovens and making over 400 other small changes - decisions all designed to make the business more cost-competitive.
Tata Steel UK’s chief executive Bimlendra Jha commented: “As a responsible seller, Tata Steel is delighted to have secured a buyer for this business and we hope that under Greybull Capital ownership, the business will continue the momentum of the improvement that has been initiated in the last 12 months.”
The news will undoubtedly raise hopes that a buyer can also be found for the remainder of Tata Steel UK’s business which currently employ over 11,000 people. Several bids from interested parties were submitted last week, bolstered by promises of financial support from the UK government.