Government agrees to one-year reverse VAT delay
Steel stockholder Barrett Steel has
completed the acquisition of the Shoreham
site of John Parker & Son, which will now
be integrated into its nationwide depot
network.
The company said this is a strategic
geographical acquisition, adding an
exclusive and dedicated bulk receipts port
facility, which will offer greater flexibility
as well as speed of supply to service UK
customers.
In addition to the port, the acquisition
also sees Barrett Steel acquire extensive
processing equipment on the site, including
shot blast prime and paint facilities,
alongside six additional Ficep Endeavour
6 NSC
Sept 19
saw-drill lines.
The move has also seen Barrett Steel
welcome over 50 new employees to its
team, who transfer employment under
the acquisition, thereby securing jobs in
the area.
The site will now operate as Barrett
Steel Shoreham and Group Managing
Director James Barrett commented: “This
acquisition allows the Group to develop its
presence in the South of England which
complements our existing processing hubs
in the North. We are excited to welcome
the Shoreham team to our business and
are positive about the future of the steel
industry.”
The former steelworks site at Ravenscraig
near Motherwell is set for further
transformation after a new masterplan was
given the green light by planning officials.
North Lanarkshire Council has granted
outline planning permission to redevelop
376 hectares of derelict land for new
homes, offices, retail spaces and schools.
Nick Davies, Director of Ravenscraig
Ltd, said: “This is a momentous decision
that will unlock Ravenscraig’s potential
and help to attract more investment into
this famous site. There has already been
significant regeneration work over the last
decade and we’re proud to say Ravenscraig
is now a thriving community.
“This represents the beginning of the
next phase of regeneration at Ravenscraig.
With planning approval now granted, we
will move forward with our ambitious
plans to further transform the site,
ensuring sustainability and inclusive
growth are at the heart of our approach.”
The planning decision comes just
weeks after initial works began on a new
£3.7m public park at Ravenscraig. It
also follows North Lanarkshire Council’s
announcement of a £190M roads
programme that will boost Ravenscraig’s
regeneration.
Since 2006, a number of successful
projects have been delivered on the
Ravenscraig site. Hundreds of homes have
been built, while there is also a state-of-theart
steel-framed college campus and major
regional sports facility, as well as a hotel
and pub/restaurant.
Ravenscraig Ltd is a joint venture
between Scottish Enterprise, Wilson
Bowden and Tata Steel.
News
The UK government has agreed to a
one-year delay to reverse VAT following
an extensive lobbying campaign from
industry bodies including the British
Constructional Steelwork Association
(BCSA).
If the government’s plans to impose
reverse VAT on 1 October had been
implemented, countless construction
sub-contractors would have gone out of
business as their cash flow would have
been sent into negative territory.
HMRC has said that it will delay
implementation until 1 October 2020 as
businesses need time to prepare for the
proposed VAT changes.
BCSA is now calling for
the government to use this
delay period to review the
decision to impose reverse
charge VAT altogether, as
it has calculated that for
an average subcontractor
turning over £15M, reverse
VAT will mean increasing
negative cash flows, peaking
at £262,500 in month three
of the change.
“This would have been the end for
many subcontractors who are already
experiencing late
payment, difficulties
in agreeing final
payment amounts
and other additional
costs such as the
apprenticeship levy
and increased pension
contributions,” said
Sarah McCann-
Bartlett, Director
General of the BCSA.
BCSA believes that the government
did not fully understand the
implications of yet another financial
blow to subcontractors and had not
communicated the changes sufficiently
to industry. This is borne out by data
collected by the Federation of Master
Builders that shows that over two-thirds
of construction SMEs (69%) have not
even heard of reverse charge VAT.
“The potential damage to
subcontractors’ cash flow is significant,
which is why BCSA was calling for this
delay,” said Sarah McCann-Bartlett.
Barrett Steel completes Shoreham facility acquisition
Go-ahead given for Ravenscraig masterplan
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