Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty House is all set to acquire two British pipe mills owned by Tata Steel, the second deal to be reached by the company in Britain in a little over a week. Both the, 42 and 82 inch “longitudinal submerged arc welded” pipe mills, which produce heavy-duty steel for the energy, power and construction sectors in Britain and beyond, employ around 140 people. Liberty house said all the jobs would be saved and anticipated further recruitment in the future.
“It is anticipated that a support package will help Liberty to stabilise and grow the business through upskilling the workforce and developing new products,” the company said. Liberty intends to use steel from plate mills in Scotland, acquired from Tata Steel earlier this year for the pipe mills, and that the Hartlepool and Scunthorpe mills, upgraded, could be together used to develop high-specification piping for oil and gas sector globally.
Gupta said, “These mills can be a symbol of a new Britain, integrated with the world economy, exporting a world-class product globally once again. We aim to engage with all customers of the business locally and internationally to regain our market share.” His company has spent over £500 million in Britain since the start of 2017, as well as others across the world, including the US and Australia, as part of a strategy of acquiring struggling businesses with potential and integrating them into their end-to-end business.
