Engineering steel supplier collapses into administration

Aartee Bright Bar, Willenhall. Credit: Google Earth

Steel supplier Aartee Bright Bar has reportedly fell into administration according to Sky News.

The Willenhall-based firm had posted a notice of intention to appoint administrators yesterday, signalling trouble ahead for its 250 West Midlands staff.

Sky News has now revealed that the Liberty Steel supplier has called in Alvarez & Marsal to handle its insolvency process.

Michael Magnay, joint administrator at A&M, said in a statement issued to Sky News: “Like many businesses in its sector, Aartree Bright Bar has been facing significant headwinds as a result of the challenging economic environment and fluctuating steel prices.

“Against this backdrop, Administrators have been appointed and we are exploring the options available to preserve value.”

Aartee Bright Bar was created after Aar Tee acquired Acenta Steel in 2018. Acenta Steel achieved turnover of £68.4m and pre-tax profits of £2.6m in 2017 across its six sites in the UK which employed 350 staff.

Following the acquisition, Aartee Bright Bar formed and began supplying engineering steel products to Liberty Steel, owned by Sanjeev Gupta’s Gupta Family Group Alliance (GFG).

Liberty Steel is looking to recover from a turbulent period that began with the collapse of its key lender Greensill Capital. It’s announced restricting plans which threaten around 400 jobs.

There is more financial gloom in the steel industry as Tata Steel and British Steel have been told they need to guarantee thousands of jobs until 2033, in return for £600m of Government cash to help decarbonise the industry.

And a six-month moratorium on redundancies is another condition of the Government’s offer of assistance.

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