Liberty House acquires another steel works in the region

Steel giant Liberty House has further extended its network of UK steelworks in a deal agreed over the weekend to acquire 100 per cent of the share capital of Scunthorpe-based Caparo Merchant Bar plc.
Steel giant Liberty House plans to create around 300 jobs in South YorkshireSteel giant Liberty House plans to create around 300 jobs in South Yorkshire
Steel giant Liberty House plans to create around 300 jobs in South Yorkshire

The firm has acquired “CMB” from the administrators of Caparo Industries and the deal is based on the expectation of reaching a final agreement with the pension trustee concerning Caparo Industries’ 1,700-member pension scheme, and other key

creditors of the business.

The company, which employs 145 workers at two fully-automated rolling mills in Scunthorpe, is Britain’s largest producer of merchant bar which includes a range of steel bars and light sections for the construction, energy, infrastructure, oil & gas, shipbuilding and transport industries.

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The acquisition will complement Liberty’s already substantial network of steel plants in the UK and enable the company to supply the market with an extensive range of steel products.

Last month, Liberty formally completed a £100m deal to acquire the Speciality Steels division of Tata Steel UK. The agreement protected the jobs of 1,700 existing staff at three major sites at Rotherham, Stocksbridge and Brinsworth in South Yorkshire, smaller sites in Bolton, Lancashire, and Wednesbury in the West Midlands, and two distribution centres in China. The company announced expansion plans which are expected to generate an extra 300 production jobs in the business.

Liberty Industries CFO, Derek O’Reilly said: “We have been working with the pension scheme Trustee to deliver a solution which we believe is deliverable although this area is complex and there is still execution risk. However, to prevent the business going into administration, and losing all possibility of a pension solution, it was essential that we immediately acquired the business to provide the possibility to protect CMB employees’ benefits. 

“We are also trying to find a solution that gives many other Caparo Industries pension scheme members – currently in PPF assessment - the chance to achieve better benefits than would otherwise have been available”

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Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House Group: “CMB fits perfectly into our GREENSTEEL vision for the UK steel industry and completes our product offering to the market.

“We can now supply an extensive range of both flat and long products, with steel mills in all parts of the country. This will enable us to compete more effectively and win market share from imports, helping re-build the UK Steel industry.

“This is a business with a long history, a great reputation and a very strong order book. We are confident we can provide it with a secure future for the benefit all stakeholders.

“I am especially pleased about the prospect of being able to assist the Caparo Industries pension scheme more widely and

improve outcomes for many more of its 1,700 members.

“I am also delighted to welcome today 145 new colleagues to the Liberty family.”