BCSA welcomes sale of Tata Steel long products division

The British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) has welcomed the announcement of the sale of Tata Steel’s Long Products Europe business to Greybull Capital, possibly saving up to 4,400 jobs in the UK.

The BCSA says that a UK supply of high quality steel creates a competitive and efficient market, and supports the UK economy and the Association and its members have supported UK Steel’s calls for a level playing field for UK steelmaking, and the government’s new steel procurement requirements.

Director General, Sarah McCann-Bartlett says that procuring constructional steelwork from a UK or Irish steelwork contractor is the best way to support UK steelmaking.

Greybull will take on the entirety of Tata Steel UK’s steelworks operations in Scunthorpe, as well as two mills in Teesside, an engineering workshop in Workington and a design consultancy in York along with a mill in Hayange, France

The sale also includes the associated sales and distribution network. Following completion of the deal, the steelworks business will trade under the brand name British Steel

Greybull, which is a British-based investment group, will pay a nominal £1 for the business and has arranged a £400M investment and financing package.

The existing management team will stay on to run the new business, and try to return the company to profitability.
Marc Meyohas, a partner at Greybull, said the aim was to avoid any redundancies, grow the business and become profitable within a year

“We are delighted to have reached agreement for the acquisition of LPE, which we believe can become a strong business, with a highly skilled workforce and great potential.

The deal is expected to complete within eight weeks, assuming the completion of the financing arrangements for LPE and contract agreements with key suppliers are agreed.

Hans Fischer, Chief Executive of Tata Steel’s European operations, said: “Under these current challenging market conditions in Europe with the soaring levels of imports from China, we are happy that Tata Steel UK and Greybull Capital have entered the final stage of completion of the sale.”