Spain’s state-owned shipbuilder Navantia agrees deal to buy Harland & Wolff

Hundreds of jobs are set to be safeguarded with a deal to sell Harland & Wolff to Spain’s state-owned shipbuilder Navantia.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said part of the agreement includes protection for workers following the completion of a seven-year programme to build three support vessels for the Royal Navy.

Navantia is acquiring the Belfast site, two yards in Scotland and a fourth site in Devon.

“The deal we have brokered guarantees not only all four yards but the jobs in the Belfast yard for three years, and for two years in the three other yards,” he told the House of Commons.

“And therefore we have a chance not just for new investment coming into those yards, [but] for the long-term future to be secured, for a pipeline of work and energy and defence contracts – a really vibrant and successful opportunity for the future.”

The value of deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, has not yet been disclosed, but Sky News previously reported Navantia could pay around £70m for the yards.

The Department for Business and Trade also confirmed it has agreed to amend the original £1.6bn Royal Navy contract awarded to Team Resolute, the Navantia-led consortium that included Harland & Wolff.

The original contract was understood to be worth around £700m for Harland & Wolff.