Liberty House to create 300 new steel jobs

Liberty House, which has formally completed its £100m acquisition of Tata Steel's Speciality Steel division, is set to create 300 new jobs in South Yorkshire.

The company said on Tuesday that it will be making multi-million pound investments to secure the future of five sites across the North of England and West Midlands.

As well as protecting the jobs of 1,700 existing staff, Liberty's expansion plans will generate an additional 300 production jobs in the business as it invests up to £20m in new plant and equipment in the first year alone to boost competitiveness and secure international market leadership for the business, which is being relaunched as Liberty Speciality Steels.

The business will increase output substantially at the electric arc furnaces, casting shop and bar mill in Rotherham, with bigger plans across the wider speciality business in the years ahead.

Executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta said: "By investing to acquire Speciality Steels we are casting a big vote of confidence in the future of British industry. With the right business model and an innovative approach, the UK steel and engineering sectors can recover and thrive. The government is now pursuing a new post-Brexit industrial strategy and steel must be at the heart of that strategy."

Unite national officer Tony Brady said news that Liberty House has completed the acquisition brings an end to months of "agonising uncertainty" for Tata’s steel workers in the speciality steel business.

“This is a workforce which has done everything asked of them over the last few years to give speciality steelmaking a fighting chance in the UK. Liberty House’s commitments on jobs and new investment are a welcome recognition of the skills of a dedicated workforce.

“We look forward to forging a strong relationship with Liberty House and working together to secure a bright future for speciality steelworkers and their communities.”