150 jobs saved at steelworks

Steel bar manufacturer Caparo Merchant Bar has been bought by Liberty Industries in a rescue deal, saving 150 jobs.

The international metals business has bought the struggling Scunthorpe firm after its parent went into administration in 2015. It has been struggling with heavy debt ever since, after having to write off a £22.7m to Caparo Industries.

Liberty has now agreed to acquire the business, saving 145 jobs and 1,700 pensions, according to the Telegraph.

CMB converts primary steel products sourced from third parties to finished goods, operating two hot rolling mills at its Scunthorpe base.

It had been operated as a standalone company by its parent company’s administrators PwC.

Sanjeev Gupta, an international businessman who set up Liberty at the age of 20 while still at Cambridge, said it completed Liberty’s portfolio of steel companies in the UK, having already acquired Tata Steel UK’s business.

He said: “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 rebuild the UK steel industry.”

“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.”

Matthew Hammond, a joint administrators of Caparo Industries, said: “We are delighted to confirm that, with the cooperation of Tata, the minority shareholder of CMB, we have today completed a sale of the entire share capital of CMB to Liberty.”

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