Security fears over £1.5bn manufacturer sale prompt defence disposal
Manufacturer Doncasters Group is facing scrutiny over its £1.5bn sale to a Chinese buyer.
The business, which is based in Staffordshire and locates its forging business in Sheffield, is divesting itself of its defence operations prior to its sale amid security concerns, reports Sky News.
The division makes missile fins and components for launch systems, but counts for less that 5% of group turnover.
It is unclear at this point if concerns were raised over the sale by the UK Government, with ministers having stepped in over the sale to Chinese buyers of Sheffield Forgemasters, which makes parts for nuclear submarines in the Trident programme.
The proposed deal for the company was announced in October 2016, with Chinese businesses Yinyi Group and Impro circling for one of Britain’s oldest engineering companies, currently owned by Dubai International Capital.
Said to be near completion, the deal would come just after Prime Minister Theresa May announced her industrial strategy, an action plan designed to boost the post-Brexit economy which indicates a move towards further government interventionism.
Doncasters, a supplier to aerospace giants including Rolls Royce and Boeing, was founded in 1778 in Sheffield by Daniel Doncaster, initially setting up as a hand-tool casting business.
The company also has locations in Billingham in the North East, the Isle of Wight, Worcestershire, Coventry and Pontypool in Wales as well as sites across the globe in the US and Germany.
